The ships were designed for service in the French colonial empire, and they carried a relatively heavy battery of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns, and could steam at a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).

After completing her tour in East Asian waters, she served a stint in the North Atlantic Squadron from 1890, a role she filled for much of the decade, between periods out of service in reserve.

The four ships of the Villars class 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.

She was transferred to the 3rd category of reserve on 5 November, before being commissioned on 21 January 1885 for a deployment to French Indochina in East Asia during the Sino-French War.

[4] The ship was sent to reinforce the Escadre de l'Extrême-Orient (Far East Squadron), along with the ironclad warship Turenne and the cruisers Magon, Primauguet, Limier, and Hugon, and several gunboats and smaller craft.

[5][6] After the end of the war in June, many of the French vessels were either recalled home or dispersed to other stations, but Roland remained in the unit, along with the ironclads La Galissonnière (the flagship), Turenne, and Triomphante, the cruisers Lapérouse, Primauguet and Champlain, and two gunboats.