the regions of Andalusia and Levante, and even to the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila. When added to the Carlist conflict, this meant that thirty-two provinces of Spain were up in arms. On 17 July, during a massive act of homage to the "Volunteers of the Republic" who had returned by train to combat the Internationalists in Alcoy, the crowd harangued by Rep. Feliu shouted "Long live the Valencian Canton!". The next day the militia was deployed to the strategic points of the city and at 11 pm the proclamation of Valencian Canton was already a fact. On 19 July, the members of the "Revolutionary Junta" of the Canton were elected and chaired by Pedro Barrientos, a professor at the School of Fine Arts, while the civil governor Castejón fled to Alcira by train. On 22 July, when 178 towns in the province of Valencia had already joined the Canton, the president of the Junta made the official proclamation of the Valencian Canton in the Plaza of Valencia, which was renamed "the Plaza of the Federal Republic". Then 28 militia battalions without weapons were paraded and the La Marseillaise anthem was played. In an address the "Revolutionary Junta" reaffirmed its commitment to the maintenance of order: A day earlier, on 21 July, the federal deputy Francisco González Chermá had left Valencia, in charge of 100 volunteers, two companies of police and one of infantry to proclaim the Canton of Castellón. When he arrived in Castellón de la Plana he dissolved the Provincial Council and proclaimed the Canton, but unlike what happened in the province of Valencia the towns of the province of Castellón opposed cantonalism, since many of them were Carlists. This made the rapid dissolution of the canton by conservative forces possible. González Chermá managed to escape by train to Valencia. The canton of Castellón lasted only five days, from 21 to 26 July 1873. On 19 July, the canton of Cádiz was proclaimed as soon as the Government of Salmerón had been formed. The consul of the United States in the city sent a report to his government describing what happened as « a real revolution ». The Public Health Committee, chaired by Fermin Salvochea, reported that it had been constituted "in order to save the federal Republic, supporting the movement initiated in Cartagena, Seville and other towns." Both the civil and military governors joined the insurrection and