Fearing that the diplomatic crisis between Portugal and Spain, resulting from the Portuguese conquest of the Banda Oriental (province of Cisplatina) by Portuguese troops in 1817, would result in possible reprisals against the Azores, he promoted not only a thorough reform of the military structures in the archipelago, but also the restoration and construction of new forts (such as the Fort of São José, the Fort of São Caetano and the Fort of São João). He also obliged soldiers and workers to complete military roads, constructing bridges and munition depots, imposing daily military exercises. These intense efforts had a demoralizing effect on the populace, and in São Jorge, recruits cut their index fingers in order to avoid service.