It is the 6th largest city in Bahia by population after Salvador, Feira de Santana, Camaçari, Vitória da Conquista, and Juazeiro.

The Portuguese established the Captaincy of Ilhéus in the region, but it failed due to attacks by the nomadic Aimoré people, who emerged from the interior of Brazil in the 1550s.

Settlement began when the region served as the main crossing point for drovers heading to Vitória da Conquista.

In the region crossed by the Cachoeira river, Arraial de Tabocas emerged in 1857, in the middle of a forest that had not yet been explored at the time.

Thanks to its fertile soil, the city became the second biggest producer of cocoa in Brazil, exporting to the United States and Europe.