São Luís

From Freepedia

São Luís is the capital of the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The city is located on an island at the delta of Pindaré and Itapecuru Rivers, in a bay just off the Atlantic Ocean. Its coordinates are 2.50° south, 44.30° west. The city has a population of some 890,700 people (as of 2003).

The city is a sea port, through which a substantial part of Brazil's iron ore, originating from the (pre)-Amazon region, is exported. The city's main industries including textile factories and sugar refining. São Luís is home of the Federal University of Maranhão.

The city celebrates the Bumba-meu-boi festival every June. Its beaches share the beauty of those of other States in Brazil's north-east, but with less touristic exploitation.

São Luís was the home town of famous Brazilian Samba singer Alcione, Brazil's second President José Sarney, Belgian-naturalised soccer player Luís Oliveira (known in Italy as "Lulugol").

History

Originally the town was a large village of the Tupinambá tribe. The first Europeans to see it were the French, in 1612, who intended to make it a French colony and renamed it São Luís ("Saint Louis"), for Saint Louis IX of France as a compliment to King Louis XIII. It was invaded by the Dutch and then conquered for Portugal in 1648. It is the only state capital in Brazil that was not founded by the Portuguese.

In 1997 the city's historical center was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Starting in 1989 there has been an extensive program to restore and renovate the colonial era buildings of the city's historical center.