About: HNLMS Java (1885)

The Dutch ship HNLMS Java launched in 1885 at Rotterdam was a sloop or small unprotected cruiser. The ship was named after the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). This ship was a small colonial warship, larger than most gunboats but weaker than a protected cruiser. The term sloop in the steamship era was used by some navies including the British Navy for what were essentially large gunboats. The Java resembled the Spanish unprotected cruisers of the Velasco class, which were used for colonial duties (and the unsuccessful defense of Manila Bay in 1898).