Flag Coat of arms Religion Roman Catholicism 1751–1772 John V
Joseph I Currency Portuguese real | Languages Portuguese Government Monarchy Capital Belém Date formed 1751 | |
 | ||
1751–1759 Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado (pt) | ||
The State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão (Portuguese: Estado do Grão-Pará e Maranhão) was one of the states of the Portuguese Empire.
Contents
History
The state was created on 31 July 1751 by order of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, the Secretary of the State for Joseph I of Portugal.
The state was the successor to the State of Maranhão. While there were limited territorial changes, Maranhão was politically and economically restructured and its capital was moved from São Luís, in the Captaincy of Maranhão, to Santa Maria de Belém, in the Captaincy of Pará, which was raised to a unified state with Maranhão and had its name changed to Grão-Pará (English: Great wide river).
The purpose of creating this state was to stimulate economic activities.
In 1772, the state was split into two different states, the State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro and the State of Maranhão and Piauí.
Composition
The State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão, for the most part, retained all the same captaincies from the State of Maranhão: