Spain was now once again at war with France, although a French-appointed king, Joseph Bonaparte, tried to claim the allegiance of Spaniards everywhere. Exiled Dominicans who were opposed to the French began returning to the island and organized small expeditionary forces in Puerto Rico under Juan Sánchez Ramírez, which received British naval aid. Britain had never accepted the cessation of Santo Domingo to France, which it considered a violation of the Treaty of Utrecht.