Maranhão (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation:[maɾɐˈɲɐ̃w]ⓘ) is astate inBrazil. Located in the country'sNortheast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of 332,000 km2 (128,000 sq mi) and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it borders on theAtlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states ofPiauí,Tocantins andPará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent within the commonNortheastern Brazilian dialect. Maranhão is described in literary works such asExile Song byGonçalves Dias andCasa de Pensão byAluísio Azevedo.
Thedunes ofLençóis are an important area of environmental preservation. Also of interest is the state capital ofSão Luís, which is aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site. Another important conservation area is theParnaíba River delta, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí, with itslagoons, desert dunes and deserted beaches or islands, such as Caju island, which shelters rare birds.
The northern portion of the state is a heavily forested plain traversed by numerous rivers, occupied by the eastern extension of thetropical moist forests ofAmazonia. TheTocantins–Araguaia–Maranhão moist forests occupy the northwestern portion of the state, extending from thePindaré River west into neighboring Pará state. The north-central and northeastern portion of the state, extending eastward into northern Piauí, is home to theMaranhão Babaçu forests, a tropical moist forest ecoregion dominated by theBabaçu palm. The Babaçu palm producesoil which is extracted commercially and used for a variety of purposes including food and beauty products.[4][5][6]
The climate is hot, and the year is divided into a wet and dry season. Extreme humidity characterizes the wet season. The heat, however, is greatly modified on the coast by the south-east trade winds.
The rivers of the state all flow northward to the Atlantic and a majority have navigable channels. TheGurupí River forms the northwestern boundary of the state, separating Maranhão from neighboring Pará. TheTocantins River forms part the state's southwestern boundary withTocantins state. TheParnaíba River forms the eastern boundary of Maranhão, but it has one large tributary, the Balsas, entirely within the state. Other rivers in the state include theTuriassu (or Turiaçu) which runs just east of the Gurupi, emptying into theBaía de Turiassu; theMearim,Pindaré, andGrajaú, which empty into theBaía de São Marcos; and theItapecuru andMunim which discharge into theBaía de São José. Like the Amazon, the Mearim has apororoca ortidal bore in its lower channel, which greatly interferes with navigation.
The western coastline has many small indentations, which are usually masked by islands or shoals. The largest of these are the Baía de Turiassu, facing which is São João Island, and the contiguous bays of São Marcos and São José, between which is the large island ofSão Luís. This indented shoreline is home to theMaranhão mangroves, the tallest mangrove forests in the world. The coastline east of Baía de São José is less indented and characterized by sand dunes, including the stark dune fields of theLençóis Maranhenses National Park, as well asrestinga forests that form on stabilized dunes.
The etymology of Maranhão is uncertain; the name probably originates from Portuguese settlers from Maranhão in Avis in the province of Alentejo. The word was first used to refer to theAmazon River, which is today used to refer to the Peruvian part of the river (Marañón).
The first known European to explore Maranhão was theSpanish explorerVicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500[citation needed], but it was granted toJoão de Barros in 1534 as aPortuguese hereditary captaincy. The first European settlement, however, was made by a French trading expedition underJacques Riffault, ofDieppe,[7] in 1594, who lost two of his three vessels in the vicinity ofSão Luís Island, and left a part of his men on that island when he returned home. Subsequently, Daniel de La Touche, Seigneur de La Rividière was sent to report on the place, and was then commissioned by the French crown to found a colony on the island (Equinoctial France); this was done in 1612. The French were expelled by the Portuguese in 1615, and the Dutch held the island from 1641 to 1644. In 1621 Ceará, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the "Estado do Maranhao", which was separated from the southern captaincies. Very successful Indian missions were soon begun by theJesuits, who were temporarily expelled as a result of a civil war in 1684 for their opposition to the enslavement of the Indians. Ceará was subsequently detached, but theState of Maranhão remained separate until 1774, when it again became subject to the colonial administration of Brazil.
In the late 18th century, there was a great influx of enslaved peoples into the region, which corresponded to the increased cultivation ofcotton. According to the historian Sven Beckert, the region's cotton exports "doubled between 1770 and 1780, nearly doubled again by 1790, and nearly tripled once more by 1800."[8]
Maranhão did not join in the Brazilian declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by British sailor and liberator AdmiralLord Cochrane and it became part of theEmpire of Brazil. For this achievement Lord Cochrane became 1stMarques of Maranhão andGovernor ofMaranhão Province.
São Luís is the Brazilian state capital which most closely resembles a Portuguese city. By the early 20th century São Luís had about 30,000 inhabitants, and contained several convents, charitable institutes, the episcopal palace, a fine Carmelite church, and an ecclesiastical seminary. The historic city center was declared aWorld Heritage Site in 1997.
The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 4,499,018Brown (Multiracial) people (66.4%), 1,361,865White people (20.1%), 854,424Black people (12.6%), 54,682Amerindian people (0.8%), 6,541Asian people (0.1%).[10]
According to a DNA study from 2005, the average ancestral composition ofSão Luís, the biggest city in Maranhão, is 42% European, 39% native American and 19% African.[11]
According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, most of the population (74.5%) isRoman Catholic, other religious groups include Protestants or evangelicals (17.2%), Spiritists (0.2%), Nones 6.3%, and people with other religions (1.8).[13][14]
Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools.English andSpanish are part of the officialhigh school curriculum.
Maranhão exports:aluminium 50%,iron 23.7%,soybean 13.1% (2002). Share of the Brazilian economy: 0.9% (2004).[16]
Maranhão is also known as the land of the palm trees, as the various species of this tree provide its major source of income. The most important of them, from an economic point of view, is thebabassu.Agribusiness, thealuminium andalumina transformation industries, thepulp industry,natural gas production, and the food and timber industries complement the state economy.[citation needed]
The Maranhão agricultural sector stands out in the production ofrice (fifth-largest rice production in the country, and highest in the Northeast),cassava (second-largest planted area in the Northeast),soybean,cotton (in both cases second-largest producer in the Northeast),sugarcane,corn andeucalyptus. Agriculture benefits from the infrastructure of railroads (Ferrovia Carajás andFerrovia Norte-Sul) and ports (Itaqui andPonta da Madeira) and the proximity to the European and American markets.[17]
Maranhão has the second largest cattle herd in the Northeast and the 12th largest in the country, with 7.6 million animals.[18]
The state also producesnatural gas in the Parnaíba basin, with a production of 8.4 million m3 per day, used inthermal power stations. Maranhão is the 6th largest producer in the country. Maranhão also has a hydroelectric plant (Estreito Hydroelectric Plant), a wind farm (inLençóis Maranhenses), and a thermoelectric plant (Suzano Maranhão Thermal Power Plant).[19]
Itaqui Port annually moves millions of tons of cargo, being an important logistics corridor for theCenter-West of the country. It is the second deepest port in the world. Among the main products handled in 2017 are soybeans (6,152,909 tons), corn (1,642,944 tons), fertilizers (1,536,697 tons), copper (836,062 tons), coal (636,254 tons), pig iron (505,733 t) clinker + slag (225,796 t), manganese (147,063 t), rice (89,833 t), imported liquid bulk (3,881,635 t), caustic soda (86,542 t),ethanol andLPG (150,753 t), totaling an annual turnover of 17,140,470 tons.[20]
The port of Ponta da Madeira, belonging to theVale do Rio Doce is mainly destined for the export of iron ore brought from theSerra dos Carajás, in Pará. Between January and November 2017, 153.466 million tons were transported, and it is the national champion in moving loads. TheAlumar Consortium Port transported 13.720 million tons between January and November 2017, mainly alumina.[21]
Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport is located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the center ofSão Luís. It began handling international flights in October 2004. It has a covered area of 8,100 square metres (87,000 sq ft) and a capacity of one million passengers per year.[citation needed]
Renato Moreira Airport is a national airport located inImperatriz.Infraero has administered the airport since November 3, 1980, one year before it was officially opened. The passenger terminal was modified and expanded in 1998, giving it new arrival and departure areas, an expanded main concourse, and air conditioning of the entire terminal.[citation needed]
The main highways in Maranhão areBR-010,BR-135,BR-316,BR-222 andBR-226. The state has a weak road infrastructure in the southern part of the state, and was identified, in 2022, as one of the worst road networks in the country.[22][23]
The colored strips (red, white and black) 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 beBeta Scorpii, as the constellationScorpius is also depicted on thenational flag of Brazil. The flag has a ratio of 2:3.[citation needed]
The song "Kadhal Anukkal" from the filmEndhiran (Tamil, 2010) featuring Aishwarya Rai and Rajnikanth was filmed at the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park sand dunes.
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