SAO LUIS

city, capital of Maranho estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It lies on the west side of So Lus Island on the Atlantic coast. The island is really a long, narrow peninsula between the drowned mouths of the Mearim and Itapicuru rivers (So Marcos Bay to the west and So Jos Bay to the east), and it is cut off from the mainland by a shallow side channel, the Mosquito Strait. The city was formerly called So Luiz do Maranho, or simply Maranho. It was founded in 1612 by Daniel de la Touche de la Ravardire, a French naval officer, and named in honour of Louis XIII. It was captured in 1615 by the Portuguese, and from 1641 to 1644 it was held by the Dutch. So Lus is the state's chief seaport, and it is the chief port for the products of Teresina in Piau state and Carajs in Par state, with which it is connected by rail. Its industries include sugar refining, a rum distillery, cotton mills, plants for processing cacao, and factories for metallurgical products, chemicals, and hammocks. Its exports include babassu palm oil, castor beans, balsam, hides and skins, lumber, cotton, sugar, rice, cassava, and corn (maize). The city is the seat of the Institute of History and Geography, one of the oldest in Brazil, and of the Federal University of Maranho (1966). Since 1679 the city has been the seat of a bishopric, and its buildings, including the Palace of Justice, preserve much of the Portuguese colonial atmosphere. Highways connect So Lus with Belm, Teresina, and Braslia. A railroad extends to Fortaleza, and So Lus has air service to Belm and Fortaleza. Hydroelectric and thermal electric plants supply energy to the area. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 164,334.