Captain Toro set up a colony with his brother Pedro Pablo Toro as the agent of colonization. The Rapa Nui people seemed oblivious to the take over; they believed they had only become a protectorate and still retain their independence. This Chilean colony co-existed and consulted with the native government and Atamu and his chiefs retained their titles. The colony was temporarily abandoned in 1892 after political unrest in Chile prompted many colonists to return to the mainland. Atamu died on August 1892. After his death, the Rapa Nui people elected Simeon Riro Kāinga as the next king.