Pico Island (Ilha do Pico, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈiʎɐ du ˈpiku]) is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta ("Black Island"), for its black volcanic soils, which nourish its UNESCO-designated vineyards that once allowed the development of the island's economy. Pico is the second largest and, geologically speaking, the most recently formed island of the Azores, being around 300,000 years old.

Although the Azores were inhabited since 1439, settlement on Pico only started in the 1480s when Pico became part of the neighboring island of Faial's control. Pico is thought to be the last of the islands of the Central Group to be occupied.

In a letter dated March 28, 1481, the administrator of the Azores, D. Beatriz, gave the possession of the island of Pico to the first captain of the donatarie, D. Álvaro d'Ornelas, a resident of island of Madeira, on the condition that he populate the island ('Captains', often of noble heritage, obtained land rights in regions not important enough to merit a 'governor', and were a cheap way for the state to settle new territory). d'Ornelas failed to attract settlers, so on December 29, 1482, the Flemish captain of the island of Faial, 7 km from Pico, Jós d'Hutra, became the new captain. The transfer of the island of Pico to Jós d'Hutra not only confirms that Pico was not colonized at the end of the 15th century, but also demonstrates the interest in boosting the insular population of the islands of the central group. This was understandable given the growing geo-economic importance of the Azores archipelago at that time, as the Portuguese monarchy was expanding into Morocco and along the west African coast.

Population grew slowly, in part because of difficulties cultivating wheat. By 1587, there were less than 3,000 inhabitants. Soil quality is conditioned by the volcanic soils [6] consisting mostly of lightly weathered recent basalt (designated as "biscoitos" or "mistérios"). Examples include the Mistério de São João, resulting from a 1718 eruption. In addition, there are few rivers on the island compared to other parts of the archipelago. The last eruptions of magma took place in 1718 and 1720 and generated three volcanic cinder cones (Mistérios): Santa Luzia and São João in 1718 and Silveira in 1720.

Aside from a few slaves sent to herd sheep in isolation before European settlement, the island's first inhabitants were primarily Portuguese, but of diverse origins. Settlers of Portuguese origin arrived from different parts of the metropolis, some passing though Madeira Island or other Azorean islands, particularly Terceira. Some individuals had noble origins, owning land and goods; there were secular and regular clergy, especially the Franciscans; and another group consisted of merchants, craftsmen, farmers and artisans. A small number of Jews came from the beginning of the 16th century, and there were indentured slaves of African origin at this time who farmed and did domestic work. The first municipality in Pico was established at Lajes, where fresh water was available (the place-name (Ribeiras) proves this).

Around 9,000 lived on Pico by 1695. Pico moved "up the ladder" of urban hierarchies from fifth largest centre in the Azores to fourth, behind São Miguel, Terceira and Faial. By the middle of the 18th century the population was over 19,000 people. In 1542, the inhabitants of the north of the island asked King João III to create a second village, to allow better law and order in a frontier economy with theft and corruption. São Roque do Pico was established. It was only much later, when the link between the islands of Pico and Faial strengthened further, that there was a need to create a third municipality. Madalena was established in 1723 (the larger town of Horta is 7 km away on Faial, and was where many of the island's property-owners and winemakers lived).

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