SMS Charlotte was a German screw corvette built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1880s, being laid down in April 1883, launched in September 1885, and commissioned in November 1886.

Charlotte also took part in other diplomatic initiatives, including in 1899 the first visit of a German warship to French ports since the Franco-Prussian War.

She served in these capacities to the outbreak of World War I in July 1914; in August, she was briefly reactivated, the only time in the history of the German navies that a vessel that had been stricken was re-commissioned.

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the Kaiserliche Marine began an expansion program to strengthen the fleet to meet the demands imposed by Germany's increased economic activities abroad and to prepare it for a potential future conflict with France.

Through the mid and late 1870s, the German fleet ordered twelve corvettes of the Bismarck and Carola classes; these vessels had limited combat capabilities, emphasizing long range cruising rather than engaging hostile cruisers.

[2] Due to the time the ship was built, a transitional period between traditional sail-powered ships armed with slow-firing breech-loading guns and modern cruisers armed with quick-firing guns and powered solely with steam engines, Charlotte emerged as an anachronism compared to contemporary cruising vessels in other fleets.

In addition, despite Caprivi's insistence that new cruisers should be capable of combat, Charlotte was designed with the role as a training ship in mind, which was better suited to the characteristics of the earlier corvettes.

The ship's hull was constructed with transverse iron frames with one layer of wood planks, which were sheathed with Muntz metal to prevent biofouling on extended cruises abroad, where shipyard facilities were not readily available.

[3] The ship was powered by a pair of 2-cylinder marine steam engines that were coupled together driving a single shaft with one 2-bladed screw propeller.

[6][7][8] The keel for Charlotte was laid down on 2 April 1883 at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Wilhelmshaven, under the contract name Ersatz Victoria, as a replacement for the older corvette.

While on the cruise, Charlotte participated in a celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of King George I of Greece from 27 October to 5 November in Piraeus.

After the German ships fired a warning shot, the Haitian government acquiesced, though it requested an extension of two hours to arrange the payment of the indemnity.

To gain leverage to secure the payment, German sailors went aboard the three Haitian naval vessels in the port to neutralize them.

Her training activities were interrupted by an outbreak of measles among the cadets and Schiffsjungen, which lasted until early July when she began a cruise in the Baltic.

They visited several islands in the Atlantic before proceeding to Tangier, Morocco in January 1899, since civil disturbances in the country threatened German interests.

In a show of good will, Charlotte and Stosch were sent to visit French ports in North Africa, including Oran, Algiers, and Tunis, where they received a friendly welcome.

This trip went to the southern Atlantic Ocean, as far south as Rio de Janeiro, and she arrived back in Kiel on 23 March 1900.

Charlotte arrived on 22 December, along with the British ironclad HMS Devastation, which helped to remove the remains of crewmen who had been killed in the accident and salvage valuable equipment.

[8] The ship had another overhaul in March and returned to service on 18 April and embarked cadets from the 1901 crew year, which included Price Adalbert, the Kaiser's son.

Charlotte participated in a survey of the Adlergrund in the aftermath of the grounding of the pre-dreadnought battleship Kaiser Friedrich III, which had been badly damaged in the accident.

She visited Brazil and Uruguay before being recalled to Venezuela late in the year during the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903; she did not take an active role in the conflict and she was used to support the more modern German warships in the East American Cruiser Division.