During this interim period, the Duke of Aerschot stepped into power. He had already held inconclusive peace talks with Orange, his former colleague in the "Raad van State" (Council of State). When Spanish troops mutinied because of lack of payment and sacked the towns of Zierikzee and Aalst, the States General of the Netherlands was immediately convened by the States of Brabant and County of Hainaut on 8 September 1576 to deal with the mutinous troops. Holland and Zeeland, as rebellious provinces, were not invited. Aerschot, acting in the usurpation of the royal prerogatives, had by then been appointed as head of the Council of State by the States General. This made him acting governor-general. This action was comparable to what Orange had done in Holland and Zeeland, in which royal authority had been usurped by rebels pretending to act "in the name of the king".