colony · South America
State of Maranhão and Piauí
Origins
When the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão was divided in 1772, the eastern part, made up of the captaincies of Maranhão and Piauí, became the State of Maranhão and Piauí, with its capital at São Luís.
Rule and society
Maranhão grew cotton and rice for export on plantations worked by enslaved Africans, many imported by the General Company of Grão-Pará and Maranhão, and São Luís prospered as a port. Piauí, with its capital at Oeiras, was a land of cattle ranches supplying meat to the northeast. Little is known of the state's separate administration.
Decline and legacy
Sources differ on when the separate state was merged back into the general administration of Brazil; its captaincies became provinces after 1821. Maranhão stayed loyal to Portugal at independence and joined the Empire of Brazil only in 1823. Piauí and Maranhão are today states of Brazil.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). State of Maranhão and Piauí. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-maranhao-and-piaui
- MLA
- “State of Maranhão and Piauí.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-maranhao-and-piaui. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “State of Maranhão and Piauí.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-maranhao-and-piaui.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘State of Maranhão and Piauí’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/state-of-maranhao-and-piaui (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻