was an unprotected cruiser of the built for the French Navy in the 1870s and 1880s. She was originally named , but was renamed during construction. The ship was intended to serve abroad in the French colonial empire, and was ordered to strengthen the fleet after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. To allow the ship to cruise for long distances, she was fitted with a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine, and she carried a main battery of fifteen guns. Her top speed under steam was .

was initially sent to join the Far East Squadron during the Sino-French War, but she arrived shortly before the end of the conflict and did not see action. In the early 1890s, the ship was stationed in Brest, France. In 1894, she was sent to the Indian Ocean division, where she became the flagship. She participated in the Second Madagascar expedition that began later that year. She supported French troops fighting on the island until the Merina government surrendered. returned to France after the war ended in 1896; a refit scheduled for 1898 was cancelled and the ship was instead removed from service in 1901. Converted into a mooring hulk, she lingered on in the navy's inventory until 1907, when she was sold to ship breakers.

Design

The four ships of the were ordered under the auspices of the naval plan of 1872, which was laid out to modernize the French Navy in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The navy sought new unprotected cruisers that carried a heavier armament than earlier vessels, while maintaining a similar size to keep costs from increasing during a period of limited naval budgets. The design for the ships was drawn up by Arthur Bienaymé as part of a competition that also resulted in the subsequent and very similar s. The -class ships were intended to serve overseas in the French colonial empire.

was long at the waterline, with a beam of and an average draft of . She displaced as designed. The ship had a ram bow and an overhanging stern. Her crew amounted to 264 officers and enlisted men. The ship's propulsion system consisted of a single compound steam engine driving a screw propeller. Steam was provided by six coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into a pair of funnels placed side-by-side. Her machinery was rated to produce for a top speed of . At a more economical speed of , the ship could steam for . She had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long voyages overseas.

The ship was armed with a main battery of fifteen M1870M 21.3-caliber guns. Two were placed atop the forecastle as chase guns, one was on the stern, and the remainder were placed in an amidships battery on the upper deck, six guns per broadside. The broadside guns were in pivot mounts firing through embrasures. A pair of Hotchkiss revolver cannon provided close-range defense against torpedo boats. She also carried four bronze cannon that could be sent ashore with a landing party or used to arm the ship's boats.

Service history The keel for was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort shipyard in Rochefort on 10 January 1877; she was the last member of her class to be built. The ship was originally named after an earlier , though that vessel was lost in a storm with her entire crew, so the name was changed to on 15 September 1882 to avoid negative morale for her future crews. Her completed hull was launched on 27 September, and she was placed in limited commission for sea trials in 1883. She carried out full-power tests on 27 October, during which she made . She was placed in full commission on 14 November to move the ship from Rochefort to Toulon, where she was placed in the 2nd category of reserve on 5 December. While she was in reserve, the number of 37 mm guns was increased to ten. She remained out of service until 15 December 1884, when she was recommissioned for a deployment to the Far East.

The ship was sent to reinforce the (Far East Squadron) during the Sino-French War, along with the ironclad warship and the cruisers , , , and , and several gunboats and smaller craft. The ships departed Brest on 21 February 1885 and stopped in Algiers, French Algeria, on 3 March while en route. By 25 April, they had arrived on station in French Indochina, though a preliminary peace agreement had already been signed on 4 April, so the ships saw no action during the war. After the end of the war in June, many of the French vessels were either recalled home or dispersed to other stations, but remained in the unit, along with the ironclads (the flagship), , and , the cruisers , and , and two gunboats. remained in the region through 1887.

By 1889, the ship had returned to France; that year, she underwent an extensive overhaul that included work to her engine and boilers, and alterations to her bridge and rigging. Work continued into 1890. Later that year, was stationed at Brest, along with the protected cruiser and the unprotected cruiser . The three cruisers were mobilized on 20 June to take part in the fleet maneuvers held that year. was assigned to the Second Division for the exercises, which lasted until 28 July. spent ten months of the year 1891 out of service in the 3rd category of reserve. In 1892, the ship underwent another refit that reduced her armament to ten 138.6 mm guns, a single gun, and ten 37 mm guns.

The ship was assigned to the Indian Ocean division by 1892, and at that time, the unit consisted of , the cruiser , the aviso , two gunboats, and two transports. served as the divisional flagship. In 1893, she was called to patrol the east coast of Madagascar, including the town of Vatomandry, owing to significant arms shipments. She was joined there by the cruiser , which was already on station there. By 1894, the French ships assigned to the division included the aviso , two gunboats, and two other vessels. At the end of the year, the French embarked on the Second Madagascar expedition to conquer the island. At that time, still served as the flagship of the division, commanded by Commodore Amédée Bienaimé. At the start of the operation, the unit also included the cruiser , the avisos and , and three gunboats, along with supporting transport vessels. On 1 May 1895, and the gunboat escorted the transport up the Betsiboka River to seize the city of Marovoay, the defenses of which were found to have been abandoned. In late September, and two transports carried two companies of infantry, around 300 men, and two mountain guns to Tamatave to strengthen the French forces there. They reached the port on 30 September. The war ended shortly thereafter, the Merina Kingdom signing a capitulation on 11 October.

In February 1896, briefly became the flagship of Captain Le Dô, after Bienaimé—who had by then been promoted to rear admiral—relinquished command of the Indian Ocean division to return home. The previous month, was commissioned to relieve there. After her sister arrived on station, departed to be laid up at Toulon. The ship was then moved to Rochefort for a refit that was authorized on 11 January 1897; the work was to include re-boilering, but the plan was cancelled in June 1898 before work began. remained out of service in reserve until she was struck from the naval register on 13 February 1901. She was briefly placed for sale before the navy rescinded the listing on 20 November so she could instead be used as a mooring hulk, a role she filled until 1906. She was then sold for scrap on 9 February 1907.

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