Corvo

Corvo is the Italian, Portuguese, and Galician word for crow , and may refer to:

Places

Cape Verde

Italy

Portugal

People

Corvo (knife)

The Corvo is a bladed weapon typically used in Chile. It is a double-edged knife with a curved blade of approximately 12 inches. Initially a tool similar to a grape hook, it was widely used in combat during the War of the Pacific. It was not standard issue, but rather a personal weapon or tool that the soldiers brought with them from home.

Per local legend, Chilean soldiers would consume chupilca del diablo in order to drive themselves into a frenzy prior to close-combat, attacking the enemy with their corvos.

When fighting with a corvo, the wielder will not feint with the blade itself; traditionally it is used in conjunction with a rag, poncho or stick in the off-hand, which allows the bearer to parry an incoming attack. The corvo is then used to counterattack with a swiping, slashing or stabbing motion.

Due to its popularity, the Chilean army refined the weapon and added it to their arsenal. Today it is the traditional symbol of Chilean commandos and its use is encouraged in training.

Corvo Island

Corvo Island (Portuguese: Ilha do Corvo, pronounced: [ˈiʎɐ du ˈkoɾvu]), literally the Island of the Crow, is the smallest and the northernmost island of the Azores archipelago and the northernmost in Macaronesia, with a population of approximately 468 inhabitants (in 2006) constituting the smallest single municipality in Azores and in Portugal. If considered part of insular North America, for it sits in the North American Plate, it would have one of the easternmost points of the continent.

History

The history of the Azores is linked to non-official exploration during the period of the late 13th century, resulting in maps, such as the Genoves Atlas Medici from 1351, mentioning obscure islands in an undefined Atlantic archipelago. The Medici Atlas refers to an Insula Corvi Marini (Island of the Marine Crow; Marine Crow is the literal translation of "Corvo Marinho", which is the Portuguese name for Cormorant), in a seven island archipelago, but it is improbable that it refers specifically to Corvo, although the island's name could have originated from this atlas. It is likely that the name referred to the two islands of Corvo and Flores, which also appeared on the later Aragonese Mapa Catalão of 1375.