Britain's early preference for smaller warships was dictated by its need to maintain a large navy at a reasonable cost.

By the latter half of the 1770s, however, Britain was facing a war with France, Spain and the United States of America, and found herself in need of a more powerful type of frigate.

[3] Perseverance was first commissioned in March 1781 under Skeffington Lutwidge who had recently arrived in Britain with American prisoners of war.

[5] Lutwidge returned to the North American station with Perseverance, re-capturing the 20-gun HMS Lively on 29 July during his voyage across the Atlantic.

[8] In November 1791, Perseverance was anchored under the guns of the Tellicherry Fort with the 38-gun Minerva and the 36-gun Phoenix, while the East India Company was carrying out operations against Tipoo Sahib.

The British suspected that the French were aiding the Sultan and had positioned a squadron between Mangalore and Mahé to intercept shipping and search it for contraband of war.

[9] Having searched the Résolue and found everything to be above board, the British would have returned to their ships and left, but the French captain refused to continue in his vessel and insisted on it being treated as a prize of war.

Britain was not at war with France, however, so the merchant vessels were allowed to continue, and the British towed Résolue to Mahé, where she was left at anchor with her topmasts struck.