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 (plate 76).
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 was at the island called Rotterdam (Nomuka, Tonga) on 27-29 June 1774 but there is no evidence Hodges made any drawings there, especially as Cook himself wrote that local conditions of life were much the same as on Amsterdam Island (Tongatapu, Tonga). The original drawing on which this engraving was based is now in the National Library, Canberra and is entitled 'Tongatabu or Amsterdam' and the most rational explanation is that Cook's editor, Dr. John Douglas, either made an error in titling the print 'Rotterdam' or took him at his word in considering the image interchangeable. See Joppien and Smith 'The Art of Captain Cook's Voyages', vol. 2, 1985, pp. 67, 86, 182.

PAI4079 is another copy.
Mounted in album with PAI4079-PAI4214.; Page 124.; No. 43.