1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bavai

BAVAI, a town of northern France in the department of Nord, 15 m. E.S.E. of Valenciennes by rail. Pop. (1906) 1622. The town carries on the manufacture of iron goods and of fertilizers. Under the name of Bagacum or Bavacum it was the capital of the Nervii and, under the Romans, an important centre of roads, the meeting-place of which was marked by a milestone, destroyed in the 17th century and replaced in the 19th century by a column. Bavai was destroyed during the barbarian invasions and never recovered its old importance. It suffered much during the wars of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.