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Raleigh is the
capital of North Carolina. |
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Charlotte is the
largest city and the center of the state's most populous
metropolitan region. |
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North Carolina's
name is derived from the Latin word Carolinus, meaning 'of
Charles'. The state was named in honor of King Charles I and King
Charles II of England by their friends and supporters who were
establishing colonies in the southern part of the Virginia colony. |
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The state is
nicknamed the 'Tar Heel State'. While time has obscured the source
of the name, some historians believe it refers to one of the
state's major colonial-era products 'tar' which was derived from
slowly burning the stumps of longleaf pine trees. More commonly
accepted is that the name came about during the Civil War. Some
say the name may have originally been used derisively, applied to
North Carolina soldiers who could not hold a position against
Union troops because they had forgotten to 'tar their heels' and
thus could not stick to their ground. |
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The state, once
the northern part of the original Carolina colony, is also
referred to as the 'Old North State'.
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