Paraíba
State of Paraíba | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of State of Paraíba in Brazil | |
| Coordinates: 7°10′S 36°50′W / 7.167°S 36.833°W | |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Capital and Largest City | João Pessoa |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Ricardo Coutinho |
| • Vice Governor | Rômulo Gouveia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 56,584.6 km2 (21,847.4 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 21st |
| Population (2012)[1] | |
| • Total | 3,815,171 |
| • Rank | 13th |
| • Density | 67/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 8th |
| Demonym | Paraibano |
| GDP | |
| • Year | 2006 estimate |
| • Total | R$ 19,953,000,000 (19th) |
| • Per capita | R$ 5,507 (24th) |
| HDI | |
| • Year | 2005 |
| • Category | 0.718 – medium (24th) |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (BRT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-02 (Brasília Summer) |
| Postal Code | 58000-000 to 58990-000 |
| ISO 3166 code | BR-PB |
| Website | pb.gov.br |
Paraíba is one of the states of Brazil. It is in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the easternmost point of the Americas. João Pessoa is the capital city.
Major Cities
[change | change source]- João Pessoa, state capital
- Campina Grande
- Areia
- Guarabira
- Patos
- Sousa
- Arara
- Sao de Carnao
History
[change | change source]In the mid-1500s, Portuguese settlers from Pernambuco founded Filipéia de Nossa Senhora das Neves (today João Pessoa) at the mouth of the Paraíba do Norte River.
The area was found to be perfect for making sugar. The French, the Dutch and the Portuguese all fought to have the Paraíba region to grow sugarcane in. The fortress of Santa Catarina, near João Pessoa, was built to protect the city from the Dutch.
In late 1989 a team looking for gemstone and led by Heitor Dimas Barbosa found what some people believe are the best tourmaline crystals ever found. Copper in the crystals gives the tourmalines a bright turquoise color that had never been seen before in the gems. The mountains have been searched after this, but no more crystals have been found.
Flag
[change | change source]The word nego is Portuguese for "I deny". It refers to protests in the 1920s in Paraíba against Júlio Prestes becoming the President of Brazil. State president João Pessoa supported these protests. João Pessoa joined the alliance to the overthrow of the federal government. This group caused Getúlio Vargas to become president. The rebellion lead to João Pessoa being killed.
The official government site of the state of Paraíba says that the red is for the blood of the assassination of João Pessoa. The black is for the mourning after the assassination.
References
[change | change source]Other websites
[change | change source]
| States of Brazil | 
|
|---|---|
| Acre | Alagoas | Amapá | Amazonas | Bahia | Ceará | Espírito Santo | Goiás | Maranhão | Mato Grosso | Mato Grosso do Sul | Minas Gerais | Pará | Paraíba | Paraná | Pernambuco | Piauí | Rio de Janeiro | Rio Grande do Norte | Rio Grande do Sul | Rondônia | Roraima | Santa Catarina | São Paulo | Sergipe | Tocantins | |
| Federal district: Distrito Federal | |