 There were debates regarding the desirability of retaining the Castilian units of measure or, in the interests of harmonisation, adopting the French system.Although Spain assisted Méchain in his meridian survey, the Government feared the French revolutionary movement and reinforced the Castilian units of measure to counter such movements.By 1849 however, it proved difficult to maintain the old system and in that year the metric system became the legal system of measure in Spain.The Spanish Royal Academy of Science urged the Government to approve the creation of a large-scale map of Spain in 1852.