Legal Definitions - oneratio

The term oneratio is a historical legal term that refers to the goods, merchandise, or freight loaded onto a ship, wagon, or other vehicle for transport. It essentially means the cargo or lading being carried.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• 17th-Century Maritime Trade: Imagine a large sailing vessel in the 1600s preparing to depart from a port in England, bound for the American colonies. The ship's hold is filled with barrels of salted cod, crates of manufactured tools, and bolts of woolen cloth.
  In this context, the entire collection of goods—the salted cod, tools, and cloth—constitutes the oneratio, representing the complete cargo loaded onto the ship for its transatlantic voyage.
• Medieval Overland Caravan: Consider a caravan of merchant wagons traversing trade routes across Europe in the 14th century. Each wagon is laden with sacks of grain, casks of local wine, and bundles of cured animal hides.
  The grain, wine, and hides carried by these wagons collectively represent the oneratio, which is the load of goods being transported by land from one market to another.
• 18th-Century River Barge: Picture a flat-bottomed barge navigating a major river in continental Europe during the 1700s. The barge is piled high with freshly cut timber and large blocks of quarried stone, destined for a growing city downstream.
  Here, the timber and stone filling the barge are the oneratio, signifying the specific materials loaded onto the river vessel for commercial transport.