Statistics
Capital:	João Pessoa
Area:	56,372 km²
Inhabitants:	3,436,000 (2002)
Pop. density:	61 inh./km²
Timezone:	GMT -3
ISO 3166-2:	BR-PB
Governor:	Cássio Cunha Lim
Map

Paraíba is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It contains the easternmost land of the Americas.

History

In the mid-1500s, Portuguese settlers from Pernambuco founded Filipéia de Nossa Senhora das Neves (today João Pessoa) at the mouth of the Paraíba River .

The area soon proved perfect for sugar production, with the French, the Dutch and the Portuguese all constantly fighting to control the Paraíba region to grow the lucrative sugarcane in. The fortress of Santa Catarina, near João Pessoa, was built to protect the city from the Dutch, who soon became the greater threat to Portuguese supremacy in Brazil.

Economy

The Paraíba economy is largely based around three things; the making of shoes and other leather products, the raising of cattle for beef, and sugarcane. Though historically, sugarcane has dominated the Paraíba agricultural sector, many pineapples are grown also.

Flag

The word négo is Portuguese for "I deny", referring to the view of the Paraíba state of Julio Prestes , a president in the 1920s whose policies provoked a revolt in southern Brazil. João Pessoa joined the alliance (Minas Gerais-Rio Grande do Sul-Paraíba) for the candidacy of Getúlio Vargas as president.

According to the government official site of the state of Paraíba, the red stands for the blood due to assassination of João Pessoa; and the black comes from the mourning feeling after the assassination. Some associate the colors to communism and anarchism, but this interpretation doesn't echo in anything from the Paraiba's history, were the powers are usually held by great landowners who exchanges favours with the politics.

Other Cities

• Campina Grande
• Areia
• Guarabira
• Sousa
• Patos