Ibirapuita

The Ibirapuitã lay within the pastoral frontier contested by Portuguese forces and communities tied to the former Spanish missions. In the eighteenth century, mission Indians maintained cattle estates in the country between the Ibirapuitã, Ibicuí, Quaraí and Uruguay rivers. Portuguese advances in 1801 brought these lands and herds under new claims, followed by disputes over grants and occupation.

Warfare reshaped settlement along the river. After the Inhanduí settlement and chapel were burned in 1816, José de Abreu organised a new settlement on the Ibirapuitã under the authority of the Marquis of Alegrete. A chapel was established there in 1817, giving the future town its name. Indigenous lancers serving under Abreu and their families were gathered around it. Letters from the frontier command show that the creation of this settlement also served military aims and the interests of neighbouring ranchers. Land distribution, religious institutions and the movement of Indigenous households were closely intertwined.