Convert Dutch morgen to acres easily.
1 morgen x 2.116 = 2.116 ac
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Ever stumbled upon a Dutch land deed mentioning "morgen" and wondered how big that actually is? You’re not alone. While modern surveys use hectares or acres, many historical records in the Netherlands and its former colonies still reference this medieval unit. Whether you're researching family land or just geeking out over old measurement systems, our morgen-to-acre converter bridges the gap between past and present.
Unit definitions
What is a Dutch morgen (morgen)?
- Description: A traditional Dutch unit of area, literally meaning "morning." It represented the amount of land a team of oxen could plow in a morning.
- Symbol: morgen
- Common uses: Agricultural land measurement in the Netherlands until the 19th century.
- Definition: 1 Dutch morgen = 8,516 square meters (standardized in 1816).
What is an acre (ac)?
- Description: An imperial and US customary unit originally defined as the area a yoke of oxen could plow in a day.
- Symbol: ac
- Common uses: Land measurement in agriculture, real estate, and forestry.
- Definition: 1 acre = 4,046.86 square meters.
Conversion formula
To convert Dutch morgen to acres:
acres = morgen × 2.116
For acres to morgen:
morgen = acres ÷ 2.116
Example calculations
- Converting 5 morgen to acres:
5 × 2.116 = 10.58 acres
- Converting 50 acres to morgen:
50 ÷ 2.116 ≈ 23.63 morgen
Conversion tables
Dutch morgen to acres
| Morgen | Acres |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2.116 |
| 2 | 4.232 |
| 3 | 6.348 |
| 4 | 8.464 |
| 5 | 10.58 |
| 10 | 21.16 |
| 20 | 42.32 |
| 50 | 105.8 |
Acres to Dutch morgen
| Acres | Morgen |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.4726 |
| 5 | 2.363 |
| 10 | 4.726 |
| 20 | 9.452 |
| 50 | 23.63 |
| 100 | 47.26 |
Historical background
The Dutch morgen’s size varied regionally until Napoleon’s reforms standardized measurements. In South Africa, settlers brought the term "morgen," though it settled at 2.116 acres there too. Fun fact: the Cape Colony once defined teh morgen as 2.25 English acres before standardization—a typo in a 19th-century law fixed that discrepancy!
Acres roots trace back to medieval England. Both units share agrarian origins, reflecting how societies measured productivity. While the acre survived globalization, the morgen faded post-metrication, surviving mainly in historical contexts.
Interesting facts
- A morgen wasn’t always 2.116 acres. Pre-1816, it ranged from 1.5 to 3 acres depending on soil quality.
- Dutch East India Company records used morgen to allocate land in colonies like Indonesia.
- 1 morgen equals 0.8516 hectares—handy for metric conversions.
- In Suriname, a "morgen" still occasionally appears in land disputes.
- The word "acre" comes from Old English "æcer," meaning "open field."
FAQ
This conversion helps historians, genealogists, or landowners working with old Dutch land records or properties still measured in traditional units.
Officially, no. The Netherlands adopted the metric system in 1816, but you might encounter morgen in historical documents or rural contexts.
The Danish or Prussian morgen had different values. Always confirm the region when converting historical units..
Yes! Divide acres by 2.116 to get morgen. Our calculator handles both directions.
We use 1 morgen = 2.116 acres based on 19th-century standardization. Some regional variations existed pre-1800s.