al-birwa came under ottoman rule in 1517, along with all of palestine. in 1596, al-birwa was a small village in the akka nahiya (subdistrict of acre), part of the safad sanjak (district of safed). the village paid taxes on wheat, barley, fruit, beehives, and goats. according to ottoman tax registers, al-birwa had 121 residents in 1596. a map from napoleon's invasion of 1799 by french cartographer pierre jacotin depicted al-birwa as "beroweh", though its location on the map was misplaced.