He was proclaimed by the Nicaraguans on the death of his cousin George V, who died on 8 November 1888.

He was repudiated by many people of the Miskitu Nation and abdicated in favour of his cousin Jonathan I, on 8 March 1889.

He retired to Nicaraguan territory where he became a Miskitu Jefe Inspector and River Magistrate.

He was subsequently chosen as a rival Chief by General Rigoberto Cabezas who deposed Robert Henry Clarence in 1894.

He was reappointed for the third time and formally installed at the Government Palace, Bluefields, on 20 November 1894.