Fortress of Barbalho, Military fortress in Salvador, Brazil

Forte do Barbalho is a military fortress in Salvador with a four-sided design and bastions at three corners, topped by a circular tower in its center. The walls are built from stone and limestone joined together in solid masonry construction.

The fortress was built in 1638 when Dutch forces threatened the area and new defensive structures became necessary. It took its name from a field master who commanded resistance against these foreign invaders.

The name honors Luiz Barbalho Bezerra, a military commander who played a key role in the area's defense. The structure shows how Portuguese colonizers designed fortifications to project power and protect their interests along the Brazilian coast.

The fort stands on Rua Aristides Ático, inland from the coast, not on the waterfront. It is reached by taxi or bus rather than on foot from the Pelourinho. The gate plaque of 1736 and the 1938 epigraphic inscription are the details to look for at the entrance.

The fort served as Salvador's public jail from 1828, a use sanctioned by the imperial government in 1845. Emperor Pedro II visited in 1859 and noted in his diary that the Barbalho prison was tolerable, though its jailer was deaf and the food supplied once a day by the Santa Casa de Misericórdia was poor and scant.