Of the Viceroys that followed Ceballos till the period of the English invasions, there is but one that deserves to be recalled here. He was Don Juan José de Vértiz, under whose administration still greater commercial freedom was granted to Buenos Aires. To take the place of the schools of the Jesuits, who were at this time expelled from Spain and the colonies, Vértiz founded in Buenos Aires the Colegio de San Carlos. It was also during his administration that the famous brothers Biedma explored Patagonia, and that the settlement of this immense region was begun, forestalling thus the plans contemplated by the English as a result of the voyages of Thomas Falkner. The decay into which Spain had fallen towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the rule of the seas that England gained as a result of the battle of Trafalgar (1805), led the English to attempt the conquest of the Viceroyalty of the Plata, of whose great possibilities Falkner, upon his return to England, had given a glowing account. Sir Home Popham, therefore, who had coöperated with Sir David Baird in the occupation of the Cape, put 1635 men under the orders of General W. Beresford for the purpose of capturing Buenos Aires. The English expedition landed at Quilmes, not far from Buenos Aires, the 25th of June, 1806. The Viceroy at that time was Don Rafael de Sobremonte, one of the weakest men who had occupied that important office since the establishment of the Viceroyalty of the Plata. Instead of leading the colonies against the invader, he fled to the interior with whatever moneys he was able to gather from the treasury. Under these circumstances the English force, small as it was, easily took possession of Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, the people under the leadership of Don Santiago de Liniers and Don Juan Martín Pueyrredón, prepared to drive out the invader, and it was not long before Liniers, with the aid of forces from Montevideo, and Pueyrredón, with forces hastily raised in the province, forced Beresford to surrender unconditionally. In recognition of the valor and ability displayed by Liniers, the people chose him as their leader, forcing Sobremonte to surrender his power. This was the second time that the colonists imposed their will; the time was not distant when they should do so forever.