General José García Dávila, the governor representing the Spanish Crown in Veracruz, and General Antonio López de Santa Anna had been ordered to surrender the port to the Mexicans; however, the night before the appointed day of October 26, 1821, Gen. Dávila moved all the artillery and ammunition from the port, as well as 200 infantry soldiers, and over 90 thousand pesos belonging to the Spanish government, to the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa. Soon the number of soldiers increased to 2,000 with troops sent by Spain from Cuba to launch the reconquest of Mexico. Since the Mexican forces did not have the weapons and ships to counter these reinforcements, the putative Emperor of Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide, opted for negotiations with the Spanish.