List of municipalities in Ceará
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ceará (CE) is a state located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. According to the 2022 census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Ceará has a population of 8,794,957 inhabitants over 146,348.3 square kilometres (56,505.4 sq mi), which makes it the 8th largest state by population and the 17th largest by area, out of 26 states.[1][2][3] Ceará is divided into 184 municipalities, which are grouped into 33 microregions, which are grouped into 7 mesoregions.[4]
The territory of modern Ceará was inhabited by Tupi and Jê peoples for millennia.[5] Portuguese colonization began in 1603 with Pero Coelho de Sousa's failed settlement who established Fort São Tiago,[6] followed by Martim Soares Moreno's establishment of Fort São Sebastião (1612).[7] The Dutch occupied the region from 1637 to 1654, building Fort Schoonenborch.[8] After Portuguese reconquest, cattle ranching and cotton cultivation spurred growth, though recurrent droughts—notably the Brazilian drought of 1877–1878—triggered mass migrations.[9][10] Ceará became the first Brazilian province to abolish slavery in 1884, led by figures like Francisco "Dragão do Mar" Nascimento.[11]