HistoryModern India: Colonialism and the Countryside

In which year did the British artist William Hodges become a friend o…

In which year did the British artist William Hodges become a friend of Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → 1781

Option (1) 1772 — Incorrect. In 1772 Hodges set out with Captain Cook on Cook's second voyage to the Pacific. He met Cleveland only later, in India.

Option (2) 1775 — Incorrect. 1775 is when Cook's second voyage ended. Hodges came to India after that voyage.

Option (3) 1781 — Correct. Hodges came to India after the Pacific voyage and in 1781 became a friend of Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur.

Option (4) 1782 — Incorrect. 1782 is the year Hodges went with Cleveland to the Jangal Mahals and painted his aquatints. The friendship had begun a year earlier.

NCERT (2026-27): “2.1 In the hills of Rajmahal …
William Hodges was a British artist who accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific (1772-75), and then came to India. In 1781 he became a friend of Augustus Cleveland, the Collector of Bhagalpur. On the invitation of Cleveland, Hodges accompanied him to the Jangal Mahals in 1782, and painted a set of aquatints. …”