 The rebellion was led by Juan Francisco de León, a Canary Islander just replaced as Corporal of War (1749), but the Spanish Crown could not shrink from protecting its own interests by supporting the Company, and quelling the uprising that very year.Apart from breaking the Dutch monopoly and creating significant wealth in the Basque port cities, the Company provided a fast track to job positions for many Basques.The Company's activity kept operative the gradually declining Basque forges in the face of growing competition from English industry, and fed indirectly the arms factories of Soraluze (Placencia de las Armas) and Tolosa.