On 22 April 1500 a Portuguese fleet under the command of the explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, seen by many as the first European to arrive in Brazil, recorded their sighting of Monte Pascoal which became a European settlement and, subsequently, the municipality of Prado. Itamaraju became and until 1961 remained a piece of the territory of Prado. On 5 October 1961 Itamaraju formally obtained municipal autonomy, its separation from Prado led by José Gomes de Almeida and Antônio Fontes Mascarenhas.
^"Divisão Territorial do Brasil" (in Portuguese). Divisão Territorial do Brasil e Limites Territoriais, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). 1 July 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2009.