The first cholera pandemic (1817–1824), also known as the first Asiatic cholera pandemic or Asiatic cholera, begins near Calcutta and spreads throughout Southeast Asia to the Middle East, eastern Africa and the Mediterranean coast.

While cholera had spread across India many times previously, this outbreak goes further; it reaches as far as China and the Mediterranean Sea before receding.

Hundreds of thousands of people die as a result of this pandemic, including many British soldiers, which attracts European attention.

This was the first of several cholera pandemics to sweep through Asia and Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries.

This first pandemic spread over an unprecedented range of territory, affecting almost every country in Asia.