A Geo-Historical Research on the Unit of the Ship’s Size

Kim, Sung-june; Hugh, Ihl; Cui, Yun-feng

Journal of Navigation and Port Research 2004;28(5):339-345.
Published online June 30, 2004.

배의 크기 단위에 관한 역사지리학적 연구

김성준, 허일, 崔云峰

A Geo-Historical Research on the Unit of the Ship’s Size

Sung-june Kim, Ihl Hugh, Yun-feng Cui

Abstract

The term ton is widely used as the unit of the ship’s size. Before people used the term ton as the unit of the ship’s size, the various terms had been used for indicating the ship’s size. For examples, the term ton was used in Western Europe, last in Northern Europe, cantara in Geneva, milliaria in Venice, and carra in Naple respectively. In Asia the rice had been the most important cargo for many centuries. So the term SEOK in Korean or SHI in Chinese was used as the unit of the ship’s size. Especially the Chinese used the term LIAO in Chinese or RYO in Korean for indicating the ship’s size. As above seen, the different terms had been used for showing the ship’s size from places to places. But with the introduction of Moorsom’s Tonnage Measurement in the middle of the 19th century and its spread to all over the world, the term ton was become the only unit of ship’s size.

Key Words: Ton;Last;Cantara;Milliaria;Carra;SEOK;SHI;RYO;LIAO