In 1878, the French Navy embarked on a program of cruiser construction authorized by the Conseil des Travaux (Council of Works) for a strategy aimed at attacking British merchant shipping in the event of war.

A fifth vessel, to have been named Capitaine Lucas, was originally intended along the same lines, but was cancelled in favor of an alternate design by Louis-Émile Bertin, Sfax, the first protected cruiser of the French fleet.

Sfax provided the basis for a pair of similar follow-on ships, Tage and Amiral Cécille, both of which were ordered in 1885,[1][2] though neither was designed by Bertin.

Lagane designed the cruiser to meet the requirements the Conseil des Travaux had issued in 1884, most significantly a minimum speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

After making minor revisions, primarily to the thickness of the deck armor,[a] they approved the design and placed the construction contract on 23 November.

On 6 July 1889, while the ship was undergoing sea trials, the navy decided to increase the number of 164.7 mm guns by two, which were installed later that year before she was accepted for active service.

Her crew consisted of 486 officers and enlisted men, but while serving as a flagship later in her career, this figure increased to 557 to account for the admiral's staff.

[9] The propulsion system for Amiral Cécille consisted of four vertical 2-cylinder compound steam engines that were paired to drive two 4-bladed, bronze screw propellers.

But the ship's propulsion system proved to burn coal at a greater rate than expected, and she never exceeded 2,850 nmi (5,280 km; 3,280 mi) with a normal load in service.

Named for Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cécille, who saw service in East Asia in the 1840s, the ship was commissioned to begin sea trials on 26 January 1889.

The maneuvers began on 22 June and lasted until 11 July, during which Amiral Cécille operated as part of a hostile fleet attempting to attack the French Mediterranean coast.

The maneuvers highlighted the shortage of cruisers sufficiently fast to scout for the main fleet; only Amiral Cécille and Tage were deemed suitable for the task in the evaluation of the exercises.

[18] Later that year, the Atlantic Station was reinforced by the protected cruisers Suchet, D'Assas, and Troude, though Sfax was ordered to return home.

[20] The ship was recalled home in 1902,[21] had her boilers overhaulled that year, and Amiral Cécille saw no further active service, being assigned to the Special Reserve on 9 January 1903.

She was decommissioned on 24 September 1906, struck from the naval register on 27 August 1907, and converted into a hulk the next year to support the school for torpedo boat engine room crews, replacing the old ship of the line Algésiras, which had accidentally been destroyed by fire.