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- Paraíba:
Official website: http://www.pb.gov.br
Capital: João Pessoa
Area: 56,584 km2
Important cities: Campina Grande, Santa Rita, Patos, Souza
Paraíba is the most oriental state of Brazil; Cabo Branco (Cape White), in the city of João Pessoa, is the easternmost point of Brazil and Americas. However, the
affirmation that "the dawn comes first in Paraíba" is false; because of the inclination of Earth, the sun may be seen first in southern latitudes (I remember that,
on January 1st. 2000, groups of people gathered in João Pessoa to watch the first sunrays of the century - yes, many people thought that that day was the beginning
of the 21st century -, but reports on TV announced that, for example, Rio de Janeiro would see the sun before Paraíba).
The flag brings the word NEGO, which in Portuguese means "(I) deny". In the Presidential election of 1930, the official candidate was Júlio Prestes, from São Paulo, who
had the support of Epitácio Pessoa, uncle of João Pessoa, then governor of Paraíba; when asked to support Júlio Prestes, João Pessoa responded with a telegram: Nego (I deny).
Shortly after the election, won by Júlio Prestes, João Pessoa was killed; the red of the flag represents the blood of Pessoa, while the black represents the mourning of the
paraibanos. Click the link below to read more about the History of Paraíba.
- Physical Geography:
The state can be divided in three main morphologic regions: the littoraneous lowlands (about 200 km wide); the Borborema plateau, a mountain chain with average altitude of
800m; and the occidental plateau, continuation of the Borborema towards the west. The Borborema is a chain about 350 km long, which stretches from the north of Minas Gerais
up to the south of Rio Grande do Norte; the chain physically separates the coast from the interior, and has influence on the climate and vegetation of the State.
- Climate:
From the coast to the border of Borborema, climate is tropical humid, with rains concentrated on the winter (March through August); average temperature is 24 degrees
Celsius, and pluviosity ranges from 1,500 mm in the coast to 800 mm close to Borborema; because of altitude, some areas of Borborema are wetter, with pluviosity of up
to 1,400 mm (the best agricultural areas of Paraíba are on the humid parts of Borborema).
Except for the area around Borborema, all the occidental plateau has a semi-arid climate (the region is referred to as sertão. Mean annual temperatures are higher
(around 26 degrees Celsius); pluviosity levels are low, ranging from 600 mm to 300 mm. The rainy seasons, when exist, occur on autumn (March - June), but itīs common
to see years without rain (March 19th, the day of São José, is a symbolic day for the locals: according to popular belief, if there is rain that day, the year will be
wet, propicious to the plantations); a good part of Paraíba is located on the Polygon of Drought.
- Vegetation:
Three distinct kinds of vegetation cover Paraíba. In the coastal lowlands, there was a predominance of tropical forest; much of the forest was devastated, firstly for
the exploration of timber, then for cane farms and cattle pasture, and eventually for the urbanization. The semi-arid is dominated by the caatinga, with a dispersed
population of cactus, bushes and other specimes adapted to the dry climate. The area between the coast and the sertão is called agreste, and the vegetation is a transition
between the forests and the caatingas, with specimes of both systems.
- Rivers:
The river Paraíba (not to be confused with Paraíba do Sul, in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) was reference for the foundation of João Pessoa, capital of the State; other
important rivers are Carimataú and Piranhas (which, in Rio Grande do Norte, is called Açu). There is a big variation in level and flow of the rivers, between the wet and
dry seasons; many rivers become completely dry, when thereīs no rain; dams (some modern, many rustic) are built along the larger rivers, forming reservoirs called açudes.
- History:
The first group of Portuguese to set foot on lands of Paraíba were apparently welcomed by the indians, but ended up killed and eaten; the region, near the border with
Pernambuco, preserves until today the name of Baía da Traição (Bay of Traison).
In the first decades of the 1500s, when Brazil was found, the region of Paraíba was more often visited by Frenchmen (who became friends with the indians) than the
Portuguese; the reason was that while the latter wanted to occupy the lands (imposing authority), the former only wanted to have commercial relationships (giving
away gadgets in exchange of valuable brazil-wood).
Portuguese and French (these ones, with support of the indians) fought all along the 16th century. Because of this war, only on November 4th 1585 didthe Portuguese found
the first village in the region, which was called Filipéia, and today is João Pessoa; the following years, the French were expelled from their positions in Mamanguape and
the Baía da Traição.
During the last years of the 16th century, an epidemy of variola killed many Portuguese, but had a much more devastating effect among the indians; many indians who
survived the disease were killed by Portuguese troops; in 1599, the few indians left declared to cease hostilities against the Portuguese.
Paraíba lived a very short period of prosperity; besides exploring the brazil-wood, the Portuguese introduced the culture of sugar cane, which was already thriving in
Pernambuco; cattle was also brought to the region, and, shortly (animals reproduced at a much faster pace than the few settlers could eat them), the herds were all over
the place. In the first decades of the 1600s, Paraíba was the third richest capitany in Brazil (behind Bahia and Pernambuco); sugar was the main product, but brazil-wood
and leather were also significant.
Gone the French, came the Dutch. The first attempt of a Dutch invasion occurred in 1624, but it was frustratred by the locals; in 1630, Olinda was taken, and the Dutch
gained a bridgehead in Brazil; in 1633, the Dutch take Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte; in December of 1634, despite a heroic battle, a fleet of 29 Dutch ships attacked and
conquered Paraíba.
The resistance against the Dutch was commanded by a Paraiban, André Vidal de Negreiros; based in Pernambuco, he organized the resistance forces in all States occupied by
the invasors. The Dutch period was particularly bad to the economy of Paraíba; in Pernambuco, the Dutch governor Mauritius de Nassau promoted an urbanization process which
left Recife with a good infrastructure, and Natal, which was very poor and abandoned before the invasion, received investments from Portugal, to guarantee the possession.
In the prosperous Paraíba, however, the strategy of Vidal de Negreiros included burning down all the farms (he burned the farm which belonged to his family); when the Dutch
were expelled, in 1654, much of the sugar production of the State were affected.
Besides the rebuilding of the engenhos, the second half of the 17th century was marked by the march towards the west; expeditions were organized to explore new lands and
capture indians. Several villages were founded, including one which today is Campina Grande; the vast extensions of land, western of the Borborema (see Geography of Paraiba),
started to be occupied by cattle farms.
In the 18th century, gold was found in Minas Gerais, and the administrative attention of the colony was shifted to the south of Brazil. Paraíba, still suffering the sequels
of the Dutch occupation, had to face, during that century: a growing taxation from Portugal, a sequence of drought periods, and a loss of business because the exportation of
sugar now was through the port of Recife, instead of Cabedelo. On top of this, because of political divergences, the jesuits were expelled from Paraíba; as they were the main
means of education in colonial Brazil, the economy of the State suffered another drawback.
The stagnation helped the spreading of liberal ideas in the province. Paraíba actively engaged in the Revolution of 1817, a movement which ecloded in Recife and proclaimed
independence and democracy; the capital and the interior took in arms, but were crushed by the official troops. Shortly after the Independence, in 1822, the region had some
improvements (the capital gained public ilumination, schools were opened), but soon the dissatisfaction returned: in 1848, again Paraíba joined a movement initiated in
Pernambuco, the Revolução Praieira, which claimed for free elections, free press and a Republic regime; again, the official repression was violent.
In the first half of the 19th century, cotton became the most important product of the region (first, when Industrial Revolution in England massified the textile industry,
and later, when the Secession War caused the American production of cotton to drop); however, towards the end of the century, cane was again the economic protagonist.
In 1882, a British usine was established; because it was more efficient than all engenhos, and because the railroads now permitted an easier transportation of the cane
(which started to be processed by the Usine), many of the old cane farms faced deep financial troubles.
After Brazil became a Republic, in 1889, little changed in the economy of Paraíba, but the State gained some national political projection. Epitácio Pessoa, born in Umbuzeiro,
was successfully Minister of Justice, Justice of the Supreme Court, governor or Paraíba and, in 1919, he was elected President of Republic; rather than fighting the oligarchies
of the Old Republic, he was, during his term as Minister, one of its main articulators. By irony, however, his nephew, João Pessoa, whom he indicated to be candidate to
Presidency in 1930, was one of the main participants of the Aliança Liberal, which would end the Old Republic (read the biography of Getulio Vargas, leader of the Liberal
Alliance); the killing of João Pessoa was one of the factors which triggered the Revolution of 1930.
With Vargas, Brazilians began to have a concern about the development of the poorer regions of the country; the coffee and the industrialization had created an over-concentration
of economic power in a few States; besides the potential political implications, the massive migration of Brazilians towards the South was causing social concerns.
In 1959, President Juscelino Kubistcheck creates SUDENE - Superintendencia para Desenvolvimento do Nordeste, an agency for development of the Northeast, and similar
agencies for North and Center-West regions. With funds from the Federal Treasury, the agency funded several infrastructure projects (roads, electricity, water and sewage),
fomented researchs on agriculture and industrial projects, loaned subsidized money for many private enterprises; Paraíba, like all States of Northeast, benefited from the
SUDENE projects, but the lack of natural and human resources prevented the State from a full development. After 1964, with the military government, the national priorities
were changed, and SUDENE lost much of their economic power; projects stopped being generic (education and urbanization became duties of the State governments) and became
specific (the funding to build a factory, for example; approval of such projects usually depended on political influence); the agency was closed down in 2001, after several
denounces of corruption.
In recent decades, Paraíba has been developing their touristic potential; the culture and natural beauties of João Pessoa, Campina Grande and other cities attract more and more
tourists. However, the drought remain a serious issue in the interior; the low levels of income and education make it difficult to break with the archaic economic and political
structures.
- Economy and Infrastructure:
- Primary sector:
The main economic activity of Paraíba is the plantation of cane, which is processed in usinas constructed in the largest farms; for centuries, the cane was used for
production of white sugar, but today a large proportion is directed to the production of alcohol fuel. Most plantations are distributed along the coast, but there are
a few smaller farms in the agreste which produce cachaça and rapadura (large tablets of brown sugar, highly energetic, largely consumed by the poor population).
In the agreste and humid areas of the Borborema, there is cultivation of beans and manioc, usually just for subsistence (beans and manioc flour, along with corn,
can be stocked up for long periods, and constitute the basic food items of most families) or trading in local fairs. Corn is more common in the sertão, along with
cotton and other tough plants, adapted to dry climates, like agave and sisal.
The areas along the river Curumataú have a concentration of cattle ranchs; in the far west, the raising of caprines is more common than of bovines (goat has been
present in the cuisine of Paraíba since long ago; more recently, when it has been shown that goat is not only saborous, but healthy, the habit has been spreading to
other States).
- Industries and Services:
The industrialization of Paraíba gained some impulse with SUDENE (an Agency for Development of Brazilian Northeast), in the 1960s, but the lack of natural resources
and and consumer markets prevented a greater development. Industries installed in João Pessoa and Campina Grande produce textiles, food and drink, furniture and others
destined mostly to the local and regional markets; companies in the agreste sertão have presence in leather and minerals industrialization.
The largest company established in Paraíba is CIPASA (Cimentos da Paraíba S.A., a subsidiary of giant Brazilian group Votorantim), a cement producer with head offices
in the city of Caaporã, with a business volume of about US$ 212 million in 2003; CIPASA ranked #391 among the largest Brazilian corporations. Amongst the Top 500 in Brazil,
the only other company from Paraíba is SAELPA - Sociedade Anonima de Eletrificação da Paraíba (#488), the distributor of electricity in the State, with US$ 162 million in
business in 2003.
- Tourism:
João Pessoa is a growing tourist destination among Brazilians, who are attracted by the charm of a sunny coastal city without urban violence; the touristic infrastructure
is permanently improving, and publicitary campaigns are divulgating the attractions of the city and State: beaches, sun, pure air (João Pessoa claims to be the city with
most green area per habitant in Brazil), culinary, culture.
Campina Grande disputes with Caruaru, in Pernambuco, not only the title of most important city in the sertão of Brazil, but also the honour of biggest Junine Parties in
the world; besides, thanks to the excellence of their two universities, Campina Grande is becoming an important technological cluster of Brazil.
Paraíba imports all the energy consumed; Paulo Afonso, in Bahia, supplies most of it. The two most important roads are BR-101, along the coast, and BR-230, going from João
Pessoa to Campina Grande and on until Cajazeiras. There is an airport in João Pessoa, and a port in Cabedelo.
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