This engraving comes from the official account of Cook's second voyage, 'A Voyage towards the South Pole', published by Strahan and Cadell in 1777.
Captain James Cook (1728-79) made three separate voyages to the Pacific (first in the 'Endeavour', second with 'Resolution' and 'Adventure', and finally with 'Resolution and 'Discovery'). He did more than any other voyager to explore it and the Southern Ocean, not only encountering Pacific cultures for the first time but also assembling the first large-scale collections of Pacific objectsbrought back to Europe. He was killed on Hawaii in 1779. Hodges (1744-97) was the draughtsman and painter on Cook's second expedition,1772-75, and was subsequently employed by the Admiralty to work up drawings for engraving and produce finished oil paintings from it.

Cook reached Vanuatu in July of 1774. Shortly after he had anchored at Malekula on 22 July, islanders came out to trade in their canoes and four came aboard. Hodge's dignified presentation of the Malekulans is quite at variance with Cook's published account, in which he describes them as 'ape-like', the most ugly, ill-proportioned people I ever saw,' 'a rather diminutive race; with long heads, flat faces and monkey countenances.' He nevertheless noted that they were 'easily persuaded to sit for their portraits and seemed to have an idea of the representations'. George Forster left a more sympathetic impression: 'The features of these people, though remarkably irregular and ugly, yet are full of great sprightliness, and express a quick comprehension.'

There are three extant drawings by Hodges, all of one man. The earliest version, probably drawn at the time, is now in the Public Archives of Canada. The second version is now in the La Trobe Library, Melbourne. Evidence for this third version, now lost, is contained in what seems to be the preliminary study for it, now in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.

PAI4084 is another copy.
Mounted in album with PAI4078-PAI4084, PAI4086-PAI4214.; Page 131.; Plate No. XLVII.