Despite the discovery of Carthaginian coins and the possible presence of a pre-Portuguese statue on Corvo,[3][4] the current historical consensus is that the history of the Azores begins with non-official exploration during the period of the late 13th century in maps, such as the Genoese Medici Atlas (1351).

Fernão Telles, the third Captain-Donatário between 1475 and 1503, was the first to attempt to colonize Corvo (contracting with the Flemish entrepreneur Willem van der Haegen), but abandoned his settlement after a couple of years.

Commerce and trade primarily occurred across the channel, but weather conditions restricted maritime connections with the rest of the islands to between March and September.

In exchange for protection and payments, the islanders provided fresh water, provisions and men, as well as permitting the treatment of the sick and repairing vessels.

Until this time the colony was annually visited by a priest from Santa Cruz das Flores, sent by the Bishop of Angra to tend to the isolated community.

Consequently, clandestine emigration was a constant of life, and a problem for the repressive Portuguese authorities, who were preoccupied with defections from obligatory military service and reductions in the island's tribute.

The settlers on Corvo were obliged to pay a tithe to their Captains-Donatário, and after 1759 (with the death of the 8th Duke of Aveiro and Count of Santa Cruz), to the Crown.

[6] During the Liberal Wars, a delegation from Corvo approached Regent Peter IV of Portugal to present the grave sentiments of the population and request that their payments be alleviated.

It was Mouzinho da Silveira who attempted to mitigate this servitude with a proposal to reduce the tithe payment (in wheat) and taxes, owing to the persistent poverty on the island.

A decree was promulgated on May 14, 1832, by Peter IV and signed in Ponta Delgada, which reduced the tithe paid to the Crown's Donatário (then Pedro José Caupers) in half (to 20 moios [470 US bushels (17 m3)][9] of wheat), as well as the elimination of the annual payment of 80,000 réis.

And after 1853, the foral (the town's royal charter) granted to the dual jurisdiction was extinguished, resulting in a liberal movement, where tenant farmers were able to raise their cattle and till their own lands, marking out a subsistence economy that supported porting ships.

It was also visited in 1924 by the Portuguese writer Raul Brandão, who contributed to local myths and idyllic republican community with his work Ilhas Desconhecidas.

On April 10, 1997, the urban nucleus of the village of Corvo consisted primarily of the old one and two-storey house/barns that populated the centre of the municipality and were classified as an 'architectural group of public interest' (Portuguese: Conjunto de Interesse Público) by the Regional Government of the Azores, supported by IGESPAR.

Despite being at the same latitude, Vila do Corvo is on average 5 °C (9.0 °F) warmer than Long Beach Island, New Jersey, mainly due to the effect of the Gulf Stream.

[6] With a perimeter of 17 kilometres (11 mi), the settlement is dominated by the sheer cliffs of the extinct volcanic crater of the Caldeirão, which extend 718 metres (2,356 ft) above sea level.

[12] The centre of Vila do Corvo, situated in the eastern part of the Rua da Matriz and characterized by a group of narrow roads, alleyways and a labyrinth of buildings, is the historic town.