The Lapérouse class was a group of four wooden-hulled unprotected cruisers of the French Navy built in the mid-1870s and early 1880s. The class comprised Lapérouse—the lead ship—D'Estaing, Nielly, and Primauguet. They were designed to operate overseas in the French colonial empire, and they were ordered as part of a construction program intended to strengthen the fleet after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. They carried a main battery of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns, had a top speed of 15 knots, and had a full ship rig to supplement their steam engines during lengthy voyages abroad.

Lapérouse was an unprotected cruiser, the lead ship of her class, built for the French Navy in the 1870s. The ship was intended to serve abroad in the French colonial empire, and was ordered to strengthen the fleet after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. To allow the ship to cruise for long distances, she was fitted with a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine, and she carried a main battery of fifteen 138.6 mm (5.46 in) guns. Her top speed under steam was 15 knots.