While Garcia was disappointed that his alliance with the Dutch could not drive out the Portuguese, it did free him to turn his attention to the growing threat posed by the Count of Soyo. The Counts of Soyo were initially strong partisans of the House of Nsundi and its successor, the House of Kinlaza. Count Paulo had assisted in the rise of the Kinlaza to power. However, Paulo died at about the same time as Garcia became king in 1641. A rival count, Daniel da Silva from the House of Kwilu, took control of the county as a partisan of the newly formed Kimpanzu faction. He would claim that Soyo had the right to choose its own ruler, though Garcia never accepted this claim, and spent much of the first part of his reign fighting against it. Garcia did not support da Silva's move, as Soyo's ruler was one of the most important offices in Kongo.