Bermuda

Coordinates: 32°20′N 64°45′W / 32.333°N 64.750°W / 32.333; -64.750

Bermuda /bɜːrˈmjuːdə/, also referred to in legal documents as, fully, "the Bermudas or Somers Isles", is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the east coast of North America. Its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, United States, about 1,070 km (665 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Canada, and 1,578 km (981 mi) north of Puerto Rico. Its capital city is Hamilton.

The first known European explorer to reach Bermuda was Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503, after whom the islands are named. He claimed the apparently uninhabited islands for the Spanish Empire. Paying two visits to the archipelago, Bermúdez never landed on the islands, but did create a recognisable map of the archipelago. Shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription in Portuguese Rock (previously called Spanish Rock). Subsequent Spanish or other European parties are believed to have released pigs there, which had become feral and abundant on the island by the time European settlement began. In 1609, the English Virginia Company, which had established Jamestown in Virginia (a term originally applied to all of the North American continent) two years earlier, permanently settled Bermuda in the aftermath of a hurricane, when the crew and passengers of the Sea Venture steered the ship onto the surrounding reef to prevent its sinking, then landed ashore.

Bermuda (disambiguation)

Bermuda, Islands of Bermuda, or The Somers Isles is an Atlantic archipelago, a British Overseas Territory, and formerly part of Virginia.

Bermuda may also refer to:

Bermuda II Agreement

Bermuda II was a bilateral air transport agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States signed on 23 July 1977 as a renegotiation of the original 1946 Bermuda air services agreement. A new "open skies" agreement was signed by the United States and the European Union (EU) (of which the United Kingdom is part) on 30 April 2007 and came into effect on 30 March 2008, thus replacing Bermuda II.

The original 1946 Bermuda agreement took its name from the island where UK and US transport officials met to negotiate a new, inter-governmental air services agreement between Britain and the United States. That agreement, which was highly restrictive at the insistence of the British negotiators who feared that "giving in" to US demands for a "free-for-all" would lead to the then financially and operationally superior US airlines' total domination of the global air transport industry, was the world's first bilateral air services agreement. It became a blueprint for all subsequent air services agreements.

Cusco

Cusco (/ˈkuːzkoʊ/), often spelled Cuzco (Spanish: Cuzco, [ˈkusko] or [ˈkuθko]; Quechua: Qusqu or Qosqo, IPA: [ˈqɔsqɔ]), is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province. In 2013, the city had a population of 435,114. Located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 3,400 m (11,200 ft).

The site was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th into the 16th century until the Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has become a major tourist destination, receiving nearly 2 million visitors a year. The Constitution of Peru designates it as the Historical Capital of Peru.

Spelling and etymology

The indigenous name of this city is Qusqu. Although the name was used in Quechua, its origin has been found in the Aymara language. The word is derived from the phrase qusqu wanka ('Rock of the owl'), related to the city's foundational myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Awqa (Ayar Auca) acquired wings and flew to the site of the future city; there he was transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his ayllu ('lineage').

Cusco Region

Cusco (Quechua: Qosqo suyu, also spelled Cuzco) is a region in Peru. It is bordered by the Ucayali Region on the north; the Madre de Dios and Puno regions on the east; the Arequipa Region on the south; and the Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín regions on the west. Its capital is Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire.

Provinces

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Cusco Region. It is located about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible lupin), barley and quinoa.

Languages

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%) followed by Spanish (46.86%). The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Cusco Region by province:

Cusco (band)

Cusco was a German cross-cultural new-age music band named after the Peruvian city of Cusco, which was once the capital of the Inca Empire. The band's music contains influences from music around the world, with an emphasis on South American flute sounds and melodies. Cusco's melodic and energetic music is a fusion of modern and ethnic styles with influences from classical music and rock music sensibilities. Most of the ethnic instruments were keyboard-generated, giving the sound a synthetic quality.

The band was led by founders Michael Holm (Lothar Bernhard Walter; 1943–) and Kristian Schultze (1945–2011). Michael Holm, already a successful vocal artist, sought to make a musical tribute to ancient cultures. He and Kristian Schultze, formerly a member of the jazz band Passport, shared musical and historical interests. In 1979, they formed Cusco, and released their first album in 1980. They eventually signed with Higher Octave Music, releasing their first album on that label in 1988. Their albums consistently reached very high peaks on the instrumental/new age music sales charts. They were nominated for a Grammy award three times.