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.

[1] The design for Naïade was prepared in 1877 by Romain Leopold Eynaud, which was selected by the Conseil des Travaux on 10 July.

Eynaud's work incorporated features of the British corvette Boadicea, the plans for which had been given to France by Britain.

Albert Gicquel des Touches, the Minister of the Navy, and Vice Admiral Albert Roussin made several alterations to Eynaud's design, including improvements to the machinery, more modern guns, substitution of iron for wood in the hull construction, and the addition of watertight compartments.

The ship carried 503 t (495 long tons) of coal, and at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), Naïade could steam for 5,810 nautical miles (10,760 km; 6,690 mi).

[2] The new ship was ordered on 24 January 1878 and the keel for Naïade was laid down on 25 February at the Arsenal de Brest.

Naïade remained there for the next three years, patrolling the region and protecting French interests in the Indian Ocean.

[2] By 1886, she served as the flagship of a squadron that also included the cruisers Forfait, Lapérouse, and Limier, the gunboats Pique, Chacal, and Capricorne, and the aviso Labourdonnais.

[5] She remained with the unit the following year, which also included the unprotected cruisers Nielly and Rigault de Genouilly.

[6] In February 1895, the unit returned to Brest, where it was temporarily deactivated; Naïade and the other two cruisers were placed in the 2nd category of reserve.

[7] She was struck from the naval register on 1 December 1899 and was then sold on 29 March 1900 to a M. Pitel of Brest, France, where she was subsequently broken up.