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THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 143 loudly expressed. Some of the members of the Audi- ence advised Carrasco to resign, and this he, in effect, did on the i6th of July, 1 810, in a cabildo abierto, or gathering of leading citizens. The junta filled his place by proclaiming as president, Mateo de Toro Zam- brano, Conde de la Conquista (Count of the Conquest), an old military officer eighty years of age, who had acquired a large fortune in commercial pursuits, to- gether with his title. The Conde de la Conquista favored, to a certain ex- tent, revolutionary measures and was elected to the presidency upon the condition that he would refuse to acknowledge the French regency and reserve Chile for Ferdinand VII. This was the more conservative view of the situation at the time, as there were even at this early day many who favored complete indepen- dence; such, for instance, as Rojas, Vera and Ovalle. Toro found himself in a trying position, as he was besieged both by patriots and godos. But eventually he leaned to the side of the patriots and joined with the other members associated with him in the junta in calling a congress, or another cabildo abierto similar to that which had deposed, or received the resignation of, Carrasco. It was a notable gathering composed of the cabildo of Santiago,' civil and military officers, church dignitaries and four hundred leading citizens, the major- ity of whom belonged to the party of the patriots. This assemblage received the resignation of Toro and created a national junta de gobierno to govern the coun- try during the captivity of the king. The junta was to be composed of seven members and^two secretaries. A congress composed of members from the different cities was to be convened. This day, the i8th of Sep- tember, 1810, is regarded as the date of Chilean inde- pendence.