Without losing any time he prepared and armed a few ships necessary to conquer the rebel islands, under the command of Lopo do Figueiroa, in order to join Pedro Valdez's small flotilla. When Pedro heard that Lopo was on his way and, more importantly, had become the commander of the fleet, charged with conquering the renegade islands, he was incensed. Motivated by ambition, a potential victory and the glory associated with it, Pedro Valdez decided to disembark his forces in a pasture used by some of his troops to collect fruit or parlay with the local Portuguese. Valdez believed that the following tactic would end the rebellion: dispatch troops to join some of his men on the mainland, take Angra and refortify the enclave until Lopo de Figueiroa arrived to support (which was expected). He gave orders and prepared for the surprise attack for the following day. The islanders had constructed posts along the coast to watch for enemy attacks; these posts were guarded by elements of the local militia and, in some cases, cannon. Consequently, on the morning of 24 July, Governor Ciprião do Figueiredo determined that the enemy, because of a few movements, intended to create a beachhead in the parish of Santo António do Porto Judeu. He ordered a contingent of the militia under Domingos Onsel to rendezvous in the area with 10 pikemen and 20 musket-armed infantrymen and to melt into the local population. In addition, the group was charged with defending the port and coast at the Casa da Salga, an area frequented by many of the Castilians in the days before the attack. Onsel and his militia marched from Angra with a well-armed, munitioned group, and arrogantly believed his superiority to the unprepared Spanish. As a result, after arriving at Port Judeu, realizing that the local population and coastal defences were adequate, he dismissed his 10 pikemen and ordered them to return to Angra. Fearful of the consequences, the Governor sent to Port Judeu a second contingent that included a few infantrymen and horsemen along with the nobles Martim Simão de Faria, António de Ornelas Gusmão, Manuel Pires Teixeira, Manuel Gonçalves Salvago, ou Salgado, Pantaleão Toledo, Domingos Fernandes, and André Fernandes de Seia.