In 1828, the United Provinces of the River Plate granted Vernet all of East Falkland together with exclusive fishing and sealing rights. Included in the grant was a clause that provided a colony was established within three years, it would be exempt from taxes. Settling in the former Spanish capital of Puerto Soledad, Vernet reverted to the use of its original name Puerto Luis. By 1831, the colony was well established and advertising for new colonists, although the "Lexington"'s report (see below) suggests that the conditions on the islands were quite miserable. The colony was largely archaic, and the Argentine government hoped that Vernet's appointment would bolster the economic and political status of the colony, given his extensive business operations.