In 1807 the British Government, at the urging of the parliamentarian William Jacob, had modified the monopoly of the South Sea Company so that vessels were permitted to enter the Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn.
Don Francisco Antonio de la Carrera, Royal Delegate of Colchagua, with jurisdiction over Topocalma, got wind of the scheme and decided to intervene.
The Governor and his secretary, Juan Martínez de Rozas, agreed to provide a squadron of Dragones (police) in exchange for 85% of the profits, and of course without notification to the Royal Customs Office.
On September 25, 1808, at Topocalma Bay, three conspirators (the butler of the Marquis of Larraín, the representative of De la Carrera and Dr. Faulkner) boarded the Scorpion to finalize the deal.
In Santiago all the anger was directed against Governor García Carrasco and his secretary Martínez de Rozas; both men in a very short time accumulated a large number of legal suits against them, while public riots erupted.
The subsequent investigation destroyed what little authority the governor had left, and less than a year later required his surrender of the post to Mateo de Toro Zambrano, giving way to the first Chilean attempt at self-government.