Light, the negotiations successfully concluded, takes formal possession of the island on August 11, 1786, "in the name of His Britannic Majesty, King George III and the Honourable East India Company".

He now renames the island the Prince of Wales Island in honor of the heir to the British throne, and establishes the settlement of George Town at the northeastern tip of the island in honor of King George III.

George Town is Britain's first settlement in Southeast Asia, and is one of the first establishments of the British Empire after the loss of its North American colonies.

In Malaysian history, the occasion marks the beginning of more than a century of British involvement in Malaya.