Unable to extract concessions from the disorganized rebels, when the American Civil War ended, in March 1865, Queen Isabella annulled the annexation and independence was restored, with the last Spanish troops departing by July. More than 7,000 Dominicans perished in battles and epidemics. Relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti were tense once the new Dominican government came to power since Haitian President Fabre Geffrard had refused to support the independence movement out of fear of Spanish reprisals. Within three years after fighting ended in Santo Domingo, uprisings began in both remaining Spanish colonies. In both islands, Dominican veterans joined the independence fight. Within the decade, Spanish colonialism began to crumble, and rebels won emancipation.