In 1810, some of the Spanish colonies broke free from the motherland. In 1811 the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Dom Diogo de Sousa (later Count of Rio Pardo), concentrated a large force of Portuguese on the borderlands, fearing military action on the part of the newly formed Spanish republics. A camp was set up near "Cerros de Bagé", site where the city of Bagé is now located. On 17 July 1811 Sousa left with his troops to invade the Banda Oriental (present-day Uruguay) to conquer it and annex all the territory leaving the Uruguay River as a new border between Argentina and Brazil, some camp followers who could not keep up with the movement of the troops, who founded the present-day city. The date for the foundation of Bagé, 17 July 1811, was officially agreed on in 1963.