to the Boxer Uprising in Qing China in 1898, many European colonial powers began to reinforce their naval forces in East Asia. Jean Bart was mobilized that year and sent to the region, and at that time, the French squadron in the Far East consisted of the old ironclad , the protected cruisers and , and the unprotected cruiser . Jean Bart remained on station in East Asia through early 1901; at that time, eight other cruisers were assigned to the station. By May, Jean Bart had been recalled to France, where she was reduced to reserve in Lorient. The ship was extensively modernized in Lorient in 1903, the most significant improvement being the replacement of her original boilers with Niclausse-type water-tube boilers, which increased her performance to from . The work was carried out between 17 February 1903 and 20 July 1905, and she conducted sea trials in October. On 11 February 1907, Jean Bart was wrecked off the coast of Western Sahara, near Cape Blanc. The ship had been steaming in heavy fog and struck an uncharted reef. The crew remained aboard, attempting to free the ship, before the hull broke in half on 23 February; the last of her crew remained aboard the wreck until 2 April. Salvage rights were sold to Blandy Brothers of Las Palmas, and Jean Bart was struck from the naval register on 13 April. This was the first in a series of disasters for the French Navy that year, which also included the wrecking of the armored cruiser off the coast of China and the destruction of the pre-dreadnought battleship by an accidental magazine fire. The captains of both cruisers were both brought before courts-martial, both convicted of negligent ship handling, and both barred from further commands for three years. Scrapping work continued for several years, and parts of the wreck were still present by March 1914. Footnotes Notes Citations References Alger-class cruisers Ships built in France 1889 ships Maritime incidents in 1907 Ships with Scotch marine boilers Shipwrecks of Africa Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean