The ship was equipped with two shaft reciprocating engines, which were rated at 4,700 ihp (3,500 kW) and produced a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h).

The main armament of the ship was three 8.2 in (21 cm) guns in a double and single turret.

[1] The ship was laid down in 1893[2] at the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde in Flushing and launched on 29 September 1894.

In March 1895, her propellers were mounted while she was in Middelburg Drydock..[3] The ship was commissioned on 1 February 1896.

The ship was there for the celebration of the discovery of the seaway to India by Vasco da Gama 400 years ago.