rioters marched on the Calle Atocha to the Plaza Mayor, shouting insults against Esquilache. They encountered Luis Antonio Fernández de Córdoba y Spínola, the 11th Duke of Medinaceli, whom they surrounded and persuaded to present petitions to the king. The duke reported to the king, who remained calm, unaware of the seriousness of the situation. The rioters meanwhile had destroyed many of the 5,000 lampposts that had been erected throughout the city by royal order as another well-intended modernization policy. The rioters' petition had included a demand that the unpopular Guardia Valona (Walloon Guards) be disbanded. This foreign regiment of the Royal Guard was recruited in the Austrian Netherlands and formed part of the permanent garrison of Madrid. A servant attached to Esquilache's household was knifed when the rioters made their way to the minister's mansion, which they sacked. They also stoned the mansion of the Grimaldi and approached the mansion of the Sabatini. That night, a portrait of Esquilache was burned in the Plaza Mayor. The king had still done nothing. On March 24, the situation worsened. The rioters, strengthened in numbers and in confidence, marched towards where the king was residing, in the Arco de la Armería de Palacio, which was defended by Spanish troops alongside the Walloons. The Walloon troops fired and killed a woman, increasing the number of rioters. A priest who made himself the rioters' representative managed to make his way to Charles and present him with the petitions. The priest's tone was ominous, and he promised to reduce the king's palace to rubble within two hours if the demands were not met. The rioters' demands included: That the minister Esquilache and all of his family leave Spain. That there only be Spanish ministers in the government. That the Walloon Guard be disbanded. That the price of basic goods be lowered. That the Juntas de Abastos (municipal boards responsible for commodity prices and supplies) be suppressed. That the troops withdraw to their respective headquarters. That the use of the long cape and broad-brimmed hat be permitted. That His Majesty show himself and speak from his own mouth his desire to fulfill and satisfy these demands. The king was inclined to accept the demands, despite being counselled not do so by several of his ministers. Those ministers who believed he should accept the rioters' demands, emphasized that the riots were not a challenge against royal authority,