was later crowned on 1 December. Meanwhile, Bonifácio initiated a judicial inquiry (which would become known as the "Bonifácia") against the Nativists, who were accused of conspiracy against the monarchy. Many were arrested. Early years The Constituent Assembly Before declaring independence, Pedro had called for holding Brazilian elections to select delegates to a Constituent and Legislative National Assembly. On 3 May 1823, the Constituent Assembly initiated work towards framing a political Constitution for the new nation. Its members, called national deputies, numbered 100 although only 88 actually sat on its sessions. They were indirectly elected by censitary suffrage and none belonged to political parties (these having yet to be formed). There were factions within it: the Luso-Brazilians, the Nativists, the Absolutists (then called Hunchbacks) and the Republicans. The latter were a few individuals with little influence or support. The remaining deputies were all monarchists. The Absolutists were mostly Portuguese who initially opposed Brazilian independence, although they accepted self-determination once it became inevitable. They opposed constitutional government and supported an absolutist form of monarchy. The Luso-Brazilians and Nativists supported a constitutional monarchy, with the former preferring a centralized government and the latter a loose federation. The proposed Constitution was sent to the Assembly, where its members began working towards its promulgation. From the outset, the Nativists made attempts to overthrow the cabinet headed by Bonifácio at any cost. They wanted to avenge the persecution they had experienced during the "Bonifácia" in the previous year. The Absolutists, on the other hand, saw their interests threatened when Bonifácio issued two decrees which eliminated privileges reserved for those of Portuguese birth. Although holding many ideological differences, the Absolutists and the Nativists formed an alliance in order to remove their common enemy from power. Bonifácio himself had begun to lose support inside his own faction due to his arbitrary actions. A far more important factor which fueled the ever-increasing number of dissidents was reaction to the radical, if prescient, ideas he held—including the abolition of slavery. Eventually, disaffected members constituted a majority of the seats in the Assembly and signed a petition requesting the dismissal of Bonifácio's Cabinet. With the only alternative being to enter into an unnecessary conflict with the Assembly, Pedro I complied. The emperor appointed a member of the Nativists to head a new cabinet. Consequently, the Luso-Brazilians who had supported Bonifácio were recast as the opposition and created newspapers to attack