Portuguese colonization of the Americas won a significant victory in the Second Battle of Guararapes in 1649. By 1654, the Netherlands had surrendered and returned control of all Brazilian land to the Portuguese. In 1751, the State of Maranhão was restructured into the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão, with a new capital and government. In 1772, the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão was split into two new states, the State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro and the State of Maranhão and Piauí. The new states would fare poorly and only last 3 years. In 1775, the three colonies of Portuguese America (the State of Brazil,
Women in the Americas most North American women were farmers, and had accepted supporting roles to their men, who performed hunting, trade, and diplomatic functions. Conquest by and contact with Europeans brought extreme changes to all of the inhabitants of the Americas. Disease and a lack of immunity to African and European diseases killed more than 80% of the Native population of the Americas within the first two centuries of the Colonial period. The main European groups which colonized and fought over control of the region included the Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. They established economic systems which benefited themselves, taking land and