The juntistas had taken the political initiative…
September 1810 CE
As soon as the cabildo was called, they had been able to place their members in the committee charged with sending the invitations, thus manipulating the attendance lists to their own advantage.
At the September 18 session, they grab center stage with shouts of "¡Junta queremos! ¡junta queremos!" ("We want a junta! We want a junta!").
Count Toro Zambrano, faced with this very public show of force, accedes to their demands by depositing his ceremonial baton on top of the main table and saying "Here is the baton, take it and rule."
The Government Junta of the Kingdom of Chile, also known as the First Junta, is organized with the same powers as a Royal Governor.
Their first measure is to take a loyalty oath to Ferdinand VII as legitimate King.
Count Toro Zambrano is elected President, and the rest of the positions are distributed equally among all parties, but the real power is left in the hands of the secretary, Juan Martínez de Rozas.
The Junta now proceeds to take some concrete measures that have been long-held aspirations of the colonials: it creates a militia for the defense of the kingdom, decrees freedom of trade with all nations that are allied to Spain or neutrals, a unique tariff of 134% for all imports (with the exception of printing presses, books and guns, which are liberated from all taxes) and in order to increase its representation, orders the convocation of a National Congress.
Immediately, political intrigue begins among the ruling elite, with news of the political turbulence and wars of Europe all the while coming in.
It is eventually decided that elections for the National Congress, to be composed of forty-two representatives, will be held in 1811.
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