Salcedo left for a tour of the southern part of Texas on September 12, 1810. Four days later, Father Miguel Hidalgo launched a revolution in Mexico. Hidalgo believed that only people born in New Spain knew what was best for the area, and he claimed to also want to govern in the name of deposed king Ferdinand VII of Spain. His goal was to inflame the northernmost provinces, especially Texas, in the hopes that his cause might win the support of the United States. When news of the revolt reached East Texas, many of the colonists fled into Louisiana, afraid the presidio would be unable to protect them. Salcedo offered a blanket amnesty to the settlers if they would return to Texas by November 1.