Irecê

History

Until the 17th century, the interior of Bahia was inhabited by the Aimoré indigenous people, also known as Botocudos. During the Portuguese colonization, the territory that now corresponds to the municipality of Irecê was granted by the King of Portugal as a sesmaria (a land allotment) to Antônio Guedes de Brito. For a long time, the local settlement was known as "Carahybas". In 1896, the famous Brazilian geographer and Tupi scholar Teodoro Sampaio suggested changing the name to Irecê. In the indigenous Tupi language, Irecê means "by the water", "floating on the surface of the water", or "at the mercy of the current". The settlement was initially a district under the jurisdiction of Morro do Chapéu. On August 2, 1926, the municipality of Irecê was officially founded through Law No. 1,896, signed by the state governor Francisco Marques de Góes Calmon. At the time, it was named Vila de Irecê. However, due to a lack of sufficient local revenue to sustain itself independently, the municipality was dissolved and reincorporated into Morro do Chapéu on July 8, 1931. Its definitive political autonomy was restored two years later, on May 31, 1933, via Decree No. 8,452 signed by Juracy Magalhães, officially re-establishing the municipality. Today, Irecê is located in the northern region of the Chapada Diamantina. It serves as a vital agricultural and commercial hub for the state of Bahia, historically recognized for its large-scale black bean cultivation and production.