Barbalha

Barbalha is a municipality in the state of Ceara in the Northeast region of Brazil. Barbalha covers 569.5 km2, and has a population of 59,343 with a population density of 100 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located at the south of the state, from the state capital of Fortaleza. The eastern part of the Araripe-Apodi National Forest, established in 1946, is located in Barbalha. The city sits on the Chapada do Araripe, a major plateau on the border of Ceara and Pernambuco.

The municipality of Barbalha is located in the microregion of the Vale do Cariri, in the south of the state of Ceara. It is bordered by the municipalities of Crato, Juazeiro do Norte, Porteiras, Jardim, and Missao Velha. In the Portuguese colonial period the larger region of southern Ceara belonged to Francisco Magalhaes Barreto 1816-1887, a sugarcane landowner. The small village of Barbalha was elevated to was elevated to parish freguesia status by Provincial Law No. 91 of August 30, 1838.

On August 7, 1846, by Provincial Law no. 374, it was elevated to village status and a judiciary was created. Barbalha was also removed from the municipality of Crato. Barbalha was elevated to municipality status by Provincial Law no. 9740 on August 30, 1876. Barbalha is associated with significant events of history in Ceara in the 19th century. Residents of the town participated in the Pernambucan Revolt of 1817 and in the Confederation of the Equator, a short-lived rebellion that occurred in the Northeastern region of Brazil in 1824.