The flag of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

was created by

Joaquim de Sousa Andrade Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, better known by his pseudonym Sousândrade (July 9, 1833 – April 20, 1902), was a Brazilian poet, adept of the "Condorism, Condorist" movement. His poetry, exceedingly innovative for the time it was published, is now c ...

. The flag consists of nine stripes in a horizontal direction, interspersed, four white, three red and two black, with a blue canton occupying a third of the length of the flag and half of its width, in the top left with a white star in the center. The three colors of the stripes represent the ethnic composition of the population of Maranhão (Indigenous, black, and white people), while the star represents

Beta Scorpii Beta Scorpii (β Scorpii, abbreviated Beta Sco, β Sco) is a multiple star system in the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpius. It bore the traditional proper name of Acrab , though the International Astronomical Union now regards ...

, which inturn represents the state of Maranhão on the

Flag of Brazil The national flag of Brazil ( pt, bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto "''Ordem e Progresso''" ("Order and Progress"), within a y ...

History

File:Bandeira Província do Maranhão.svg, Unofficial flag of the Province of Maranhão, in use until 1889.

References

{{flag-stub

Flags introduced in 1889 1889 establishments in Brazil Maranhão