Bagé () is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In 2020, its population was 121,335 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It is the seventeenth largest city in the state according to the 2011 census. The city was founded in 1811 and given city status in 1859. Due to its strategic border location, Bagé has remained of significant military importance. Prior to official reorganization as a city, Bagé was seized by military forces from Uruguay and Argentina. Primary industries located in the surrounding area are cattle and sheep ranching, as well as meat packing industries and wool depots. Recently, Bagé has become one of the largest wheat-producing areas in Rio Grande do Sul. Along with wheat, soybeans are also grown in the surrounding region. Etimology There are several theories as to the origins of the name of Bagé. One states that there was an indigenous chieftain in the region called Ibajé, although the existence of this chifetain has never been proven. A more accepted theory is that the name comes from the indigenous language and is related to the idea of "hills". The local amerindians called the hills "mbaiê". History Because of its location on the shortest route between Porto Alegre and Montevideo, Bagé has played an important role in the history of Brazil and the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its lands have been sought after by Amerindians, the Portuguese and the Spanish. Important events of the Cisplatine and Ragamuffin Wars and also the Federalist Revolution happened in the city. The first contact between the local Amerindians (Charruas) and the Spanish occurred in the second half of the seventeenth century when the Jesuits established a mission called Redução de Santo André dos Guenoas, in 1683. In 1773, the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo, left the region of the River Plate to expel the Portuguese from Rio Grande do Sul with 5,000 men. Upon arriving in the area he asked Bernardo Lecocq to build the Fort of Santa Tecla, of which there are still ruins. The fort was surrounded by a ditch 9 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep, with a wall. This fort was sacked twice, the first time in 1776 when Rafael Pinto Bandeira invaded and expelled the Spanish. After signing the First Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777 a Spanish garrison again occupied the