Maranhão
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
||
| Flag of Maranhão | ||
 |
||
| See other Brazilian States | ||
| Capital | São Luís | |
| Largest City | São Luís | |
| Area | 333,366 km² | |
| Population - Total - Density |
5,642,960 17 inh./km² |
|
| Governor | José Reinaldo | |
| Demonym | Maranhense | |
| HDI (2000) | 0.636 – medium | |
| Timezone | GMT-3 | |
| ISO 3166-2 | BR-MA | |
Maranhão (pron. IPA: [ma.ɾa.'ɲɐ̃w̃] [1]) is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. To the north is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring states are (from east clockwise) Piauí, Tocantins and Pará.
Major cities in the state besides the state capital São Luís are
- Imperatriz
- Timon
- Caxias
The Alcantara spaceport is located in the north of the state, not far from São Luís.
See also:
- List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
Contents |
[edit] History
Despite the fact that the state capital São Luís was founded by the French in 1612, it is said to be the Brazilian state capital which most closely resembles a Portuguese city.
The historic city center was declared a world heritage site in 1997. The French lost the city in 1614 to the Portuguese.
In 1621 Ceará, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the Estado do Maranhão. It stayed independent until 1774, when it became administrated by colonial Brazil.
Maranhão did not join in the Brazilian declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by Admiral Lord Cochrane and it became part of the Empire of Brazil.
[edit] Flag
The flag of Maranhão was designed by the poet Joaquim de Souza Andrade, and was adopted by decree nr. 6, of December 21, 1889.
The colored strips symbolize the different ethnic groups which make up the population, and their mixing and living together. The white star in the upper left corner symbolizes Maranhão itself, and is supposed to be Beta Scorpii, as the constellation Scorpius is also depicted on the national flag of Brazil. The flag has a ratio of 2:3.
[edit] Portrayals in film
- Andrucha Waddington's The House of Sand (Casa de Areia, 2005) prominently features the sand dunes of Maranhão.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: /mɐ.ɾɐ.'ɲɐ̃w̃/.
[edit] External links
- (English) Maranhao's location on a 3D globe (Java)
- (Portuguese) Official homepage
- Tourism website
Acre • Alagoas • Amapá • Amazonas • Bahia • Ceará • Espírito Santo • Goiás • Maranhão • Mato Grosso • Mato Grosso do Sul • Minas Gerais • Pará • Paraíba • Paraná • Pernambuco • Piauí • Rio de Janeiro • Rio Grande do Norte • Rio Grande do Sul • Rondônia • Roraima • Santa Catarina • São Paulo • Sergipe • Tocantins
