From the mid-nineteenth century seamen were increasingly identified as vectors of epidemic diseases such as cholera. The transition from sail to steam accelerated the speed of oceanic voyages and facilitated greater global connectivity. The rising acceptance of the germ theories of disease at this time led to a growing fear of the spread of contagious diseases through mobile people such as seamen. This article examines how the British naval authorities, ship surgeons, and the port medical and municipal authorities in Calcutta sought to improve maritime health and hygiene to prevent the spread of cholera among and by British seamen. It will study the measures adopted to help to curb the global circulation of the disease and improve Britain’s reputation for effective colonial administration. Nineteenth century Calcutta is an ideal context on account of its epidemiological notoriety as a disease entrepot. The article argues that a study of cholera among British seamen can generate important insights that can develop our understanding of the relationship between disease, medicine, and colonialism and in doing so shed light into a neglected aspect of the history of nineteenth-century cholera, the British maritime anxiety, disease dispersion, sanitation, and contagion and the seamen’s health.
