Paraíba

**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

- João Pessoa, state capital
- Campina Grande
- Areia
- Guarabira
- Patos
- Sousa
- Arara
- Sao de Carnao

## 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 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

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.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: State of Paraíba
- **native name lang**: pt
- **settlement type**: States of Brazil, State
- **image flag**: Bandeira da Paraíba.svg
- **image shield**: Brasao paraiba.PNG
- **image map**: brazil State Paraiba.svg
- **map caption**: Location of State of Paraíba in Brazil
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **seat type**: Capital (political), Capital and Largest City
- **seat**: João Pessoa
- **leader title**: Governor (Brazil), Governor
- **leader name**: Ricardo Coutinho
- **leader title1**: Vice Governor
- **leader name1**: Rômulo Gouveia
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 56584.6
- **area rank**: List of Brazilian states by area, 21st
- **population total**: 3,815,171
- **population as of**: 2012
- **population rank**: List of Brazilian states by population, 13th
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population density rank**: List of Brazilian states by population density, 8th
- **population demonym**: Paraibano
- **demographics type1**: Gross domestic product, GDP
- **demographics1 title1**: Year
- **demographics1 info1**: 2006 estimate
- **demographics1 title2**: Total
- **demographics1 info2**: R$ 19,953,000,000 (List of Brazilian states by gross domestic product, 19th)
- **demographics1 title3**: Per capita
- **demographics1 info3**: R$ 5,507 (List of Brazilian states by gross domestic product, 24th)
- **demographics type2**: Human Development Index, HDI
- **demographics2 title1**: Year
- **demographics2 info1**: 2005
- **demographics2 title2**: Category
- **demographics2 info2**: 0.718 – <span style="color:#fc0">medium</span> (List of Brazilian states by Human Development Index, 24th)
- **timezone1**: Time in Brazil, BRT
- **utc offset1**: -3
- **timezone1 dst**: Time in Brazil, Brasília Summer
- **utc offset1 dst**: -02
- **postal code type**: Postal Code
- **postal code**: 58000-000 to 58990-000
- **iso code**: ISO 3166-2:BR, BR-PB
- **website**: [http://www.pb.gov.br/ pb.gov.br]