[2][3] It is the birthplace of the revolutionary Eduardo Angelim, the romanticist Adolfo Caminha, the bishop Manuel do Rego Medeiros, the abolitionist Dragão do Mar, the actor Emiliano Queiroz, the classical pianist Jacques Klein and the writer Yury Teodósio.

[4] Aracati receives a significant amount of international tourism for its small size, attracted primarily by the quiet and calm life of the coast.

The Potiguara, the original inhabitants of the land which Aracati now occupies, probably first came into contact with Europeans on February 2, 1500, on meeting the Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón.

The economic growth of Aracati was enabled by the creation of workshops or charqueadas in Ceará, which allowed the state to begin competition in the livestock industry.

Aracati became a producer of dried meat and the main export port of this product to the sugarcane regions, in addition to continuing to be an important military centre.

In 1824, during the uprising of the Confederation of Ecuador, the village of Aracati became the scene of one of the most important events in the history of Northeastern Brazil: Tristão Gonçalves de Alencar Araripe led rebel troops in assaulting and sacking the town, staying there for a week.