At the beginning of the 19th century Bárbula was a farm or hacienda, which was visited by Alexander von Humboldt.

In 1813 the locality was the site of a battle, the Batalla de Bárbula [es], in which Colombian and Venezuelan independentists defeated Royalist troops.

The background was that the United Provinces of New Granada (Colombia) granted Simon Bolivar permission to lead a force to free Venezuela.

The battle is mentioned in the National Anthem of Colombia in an allusion to the heroic death of Atanasio Girardot.

Bárbula Tunnel is part of a railway under construction between Puerto Cabello and La Encrucijada (Estado Aragua).