The Villars class of unprotected cruisers was a group of four ships built for the French Navy in the mid-1870s and early 1880s.

As such, they were fitted with a full-ship rig to allow them to cruise for extended periods of time without burning coal for their steam engine, and they carried a relatively heavy armament of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns.

Villars and Forfait were both involved in attempts to expand the French empire in the mid-1880s, in Southeast Asia and Madagascar, respectively.

Roland and Magon were both sent to reinforce French forces during the Sino-French War, but the conflict had ended by the time they arrived.

The ships served for another decade, frequently with the North Atlantic Squadron, and by the late 1890s, all four had been removed from active service.

The Navy adopted a new construction plan in 1872, which envisioned a fleet for operations in home waters and one to patrol overseas to protect French interests abroad.

The minister had requested designs that strengthened the armament compared to earlier cruisers while keeping displacement similar, at the cost of speed.

The ships carried 330 to 334 t (325 to 329 long tons) of coal, and at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), they could steam for 4,800 to 4,810 nautical miles (8,890 to 8,910 km; 5,520 to 5,540 mi).

France's attempts to subjugate northern Vietnam brought the French into conflict with China, which viewed the Vietnamese as being within the Chinese sphere of influence.

With the start of a larger war, France activated Roland and Magon to further strengthen French naval forces.

[5][6] At the same time that Villars was fighting in East Asia, Forfait was engaged in another attempt to enlarge the French colonial empire.

The operations began with an attack on the port of Tamatave in May 1883, where Forfait bombarded the town and contributed men to a landing party that seized the area.

Forfait later helped to defend the city of Mahajanga, where the pro-French Sakalava were fighting government forces.