The term "cruiser" or "cruizer" was first commonly used in the 17th century to refer to an independent warship. "Cruiser" meant the purpose or mission of a ship, rather than a category of vessel. However, the term was nonetheless used to mean a smaller, faster warship suitable for such a role. In the 17th century, the ship of the line was generally too large, inflexible, and expensive to be dispatched on long-range missions (for instance, to the Americas), and too strategically important to be put at risk of fouling and foundering by continual patrol duties.
The Dutch navy was noted for its cruisers in the 17th century, while the Royal Navy—and later French and Spanish navies—subsequently caught up in terms of their numbers and deployment. The British Cruiser and Convoy Acts were an attempt by mercantile interests in Parliament to focus the Navy on commerce defence and raiding with cruisers, rather than the more scarce and expensive ships of the line. During the 18th century the frigate became the preeminent type of cruiser. A frigate was a small, fast, long range, lightly armed (single gun-deck) ship used for scouting, carrying dispatches, and disrupting enemy trade. The other principal type of cruiser was the sloop, but many other miscellaneous types of ship were used as well.
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century there were difficult questions about the design of future cruisers. Modern armored cruisers, almost as powerful as battleships, were also fast enough to outrun older protected and unarmored cruisers. In the Royal Navy, Jackie Fisher cut back hugely on older vessels, including many cruisers of different sorts, calling them 'a miser's hoard of useless junk' that any modern cruiser would sweep from the seas.
List of Naval Cruisers in Naval Cruiser in 1800s-World War I:
| Cruiser | Picture | Spesifications | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkins class cruiser | UK | 1918 | ||
| Danae class | UK | 1918 | ||
| Tenryū class | Japan | 1918 | ||
| HMS Furious | UK | 1917 | ||
| Courageous class battlecruiser | UK | 1916 | ||
| Renown class battlecruiser | UK | 1916 | ||
| Svetlana class | Russia | 1916 | ||
| Köln class | Germany | 1916 | ||
| Izmail or Borodino class | Russia | 1915 | ||
| Omaha class cruiser | US | 1915 | ||
| Frankfurt | US | 1915 | ||
| Wiesbaden class | Germany | 1915 | ||
| Königsberg class | Germany | 1915 | ||
| Brummer class | Germany | 1915 | ||
| HMS Tiger | UK | 1914 | ||
| C class | UK | 1914 | ||
| Arethusa class, | UK | 1914 | ||
| HMS Clas Fleming | Sweden | 1914 | ||
| Muravyov-Amurskii class | Russia | 1914 | ||
| Dresden class | Germany | 1914 | ||
| Pillau class | Germany | 1914 | ||
| Novara class cruiser | Austria-Hungary | 1914 | ||
| HMS Queen Mary | UK | 1913 | ||
| Lion class battlecruiser | UK | 1912 | ||
| Karlsruhe class | Germany | 1912 | ||
| Indefatigable class battlecruiser | UK | 1911 | ||
| Active class | UK | 1911 | ||
| Kongō class battlecruiser | Japan | 1911 | ||
| Chikuma class | Japan | 1911 | ||
| Magdeburg | Germany | 1911 | ||
| HMAS Australia | Australia | 1911 | ||
| Town class | UK | 1910 | ||
| Tone | Japan | 1910 | ||
| Bahia class cruiser | Brazil | 1910 | ||
| Admiral Spaun | Austria-Hungary | 1910 | ||
| Blonde class | UK | 1909 | ||
| Invincible class battlecruiser | UK | 1908 | ||
| Boadicea class | UK | 1908 | ||
| Chester class cruiser | US | 1908 | ||
| Blücher | Germany | 1908 | ||
| Kolberg class | Germany | 1908 | ||
| HMS Fylgia | Sweden | 1907 | ||
| Bogatyr‘ class | Russia | 1907 | ||
| Pisa class | Italy | 1907 | ||
| Edgar Quinet class | France | 1907 | ||
| Minotaur class | UK | 1906 | ||
| Riurik | Russia | 1906 | ||
| Tennessee class cruiser | US | 1906 | ||
| Scharnhorst class | Germany | 1906 | ||
| Nautilus class | Germany | 1906 | ||
| Ernest Renan | France | 1906 | ||
| St. Louis class cruiser | US | 1905 | ||
| Pennsylvania class cruiser | US | 1905 | ||
| Konigsberg class | Germany | 1905 | ||
| Pathfinder class | UK | 1904 | ||
| Forward class | UK | 1904 | ||
| Adventure class | UK | 1904 | ||
| Sentinel class | UK | 1904 | ||
| Duke of Edinburgh class | UK | 1904 | ||
| Topaze class | UK | 1903 | ||
| Devonshire class | UK | 1903 | ||
| Ottoman cruiser Hamidiye | Turkey | 1903 | ||
| Russian cruiser Almaz | Russia | 1903 | ||
| Otowa | Japan | 1903 | ||
| Roon class | Germany | 1903 | ||
| French cruiser Jurien de la Gravière | France | 1903 | ||
| Sankt Georg | Austria-Hungary | 1903 | ||
| Challenger class | UK | 1902 | ||
| Kasuga class | Japan | 1902 | ||
| Niitaka class | Japan | 1902 | ||
| Monmouth class | UK | 1901 | ||
| Drake class | UK | 1901 | ||
| Prinz Adalbert class | Germany | 1901 | ||
| Léon Gambetta class | France | 1901 | ||
| Jeanne d'Arc | France | 1901 | ||
| HMS Psilander | Sweden | 1900 | ||
| HMS Claes Uggla | Sweden | 1900 | ||
| Bayan class | Russia | 1900 | ||
| Prinz Heinrich | Germany | 1900 | ||
| Gloire class | France | 1900 | ||
| Cressy class | UK | 1899 | ||
| Pallada class | Russia | 1899 | ||
| Izumo class | Japan | 1899 | ||
| Azuma | Japan | 1899 | ||
| Yakumo | Japan | 1899 | ||
| Albany | US | 1899 | ||
| Gueydon class | France | 1899 | ||
| Highflyer class | UK | 1898 | ||
| Asama class | Japan | 1898 | ||
| Gazelle class | Germany | 1898 | ||
| Bremen class | Germany | 1898 | ||
| Aragon class | Spain | 1898 | ||
| Takasago | Japan | 1897 | ||
| Fürst Bismarck | Germany | 1897 | ||
| Victoria Louise class | Germany | 1897 | ||
| Pelorus class | UK | 1896 | ||
| Arrogant class | UK | 1896 | ||
| Diadem class | UK | 1896 | ||
| Holland class | Netherlands | 1896 | ||
| New Orleans | US | 1896 | ||
| Powerful class | UK | 1895 | ||
| Emperador Carlos V | Spain | 1895 | ||
| Suma class | Japan | 1895 | ||
| Giuseppe Garibaldi class | Italy | 1895 | ||
| St. Paul | US | 1895 | ||
| Hela | Germany | 1895 | ||
| Pothuau | France | 1895 | ||
| Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia | Austria-Hungary | 1895 | ||
| Eclipse class | UK | 1894 | ||
| St. Louis | US | 1894 | ||
| Ottoman cruiser Heibetnuma | Turkey | 1893 | ||
| Dixie | US | 1893 | ||
| Gefion | Germany | 1893 | ||
| Amiral Charner class | France | 1893 | ||
| Astraea class | UK | 1892 | ||
| Koningin Wilhelmina der Nederlanden | Netherlands | 1892 | ||
| Yoshino | Japan | 1892 | ||
| Akitsushima | Japan | 1892 | ||
| Buffalo | US | 1892 | ||
| Yankee | US | 1892 | ||
| Yosemite | US | 1892 | ||
| Kaiserin Augusta | Germany | 1892 | ||
| Argentine cruiser Nueve de Julio | 1892 | |||
| Apollo class | UK | 1890 | ||
| Edgar class | UK | 1890 | ||
| Infanta Maria Teresa class | Spain | 1890 | ||
| NRP Adamastor | Portugal | 1890 | ||
| Sumatra | Netherlands | 1890 | ||
| Chiyoda | Japan | 1890 | ||
| Prairie | US | 1890 | ||
| Destrées class cruiser | France | 1890 | ||
| Dupuy de Lôme | France | 1890 | ||
| Brazillian cruiser Almirante Tamandaré | Brazil | 1890 | ||
| Pearl class | UK | 1889 | ||
| Blake class | UK | 1889 | ||
| Matsushima class | Japan | 1889 | ||
| Yale | US | 1889 | ||
| Badger | US | 1889 | ||
| Panther | US | 1889 | ||
| Marathon class | UK | 1888 | ||
| Pamiat‘ Azova | Russia | 1888 | ||
| Vesuvius | US | 1888 | ||
| Harvard | US | 1888 | ||
| Alfonso XII class | Spain | 1887 | ||
| SMS Tiger | Austria-Hungary | 1887 | ||
| Orlando class | UK | 1886 | ||
| Unebi | Japan | 1886 | ||
| Admiral Nakhimov | Russia | 1885 | ||
| Naniwa class | Japan | 1885 | ||
| Chicago | US | 1885 | ||
| Atlanta | US | 1884 | ||
| Boston | US | 1884 | ||
| SMS Lussin | Austria-Hungary | 1884 | ||
| Calypso class | UK | 1883 | ||
| Imperieuse class | UK | 1883 | ||
| Saien | Japan | 1883 | ||
| Izumi | Japan | 1883 | ||
| Giovanni Bausan ( | Italy | 1883 | ||
| Leander class | UK | 1882 | ||
| Velasco class | Spain | 1881 | ||
| Gertsog Edinburgskii | Russia | 1879 | ||
| Comus class | UK | 1878 | ||
| Iris class | UK | 1877 | ||
| Nelson class | UK | 1876 | ||
| Atjeh class | Netherlands | 1876 | ||
| Shannon first class armoured cruiser | UK | 1875 | ||
| Russian cruiser General-Admiral | Russia | 1873 |
