The Scramble for Africa began with the Berlin Conference in 1884, where European powers convened to regulate colonization and trade in Africa. This conference formalized the partition of the continent, leading to the establishment of colonial rule and significant exploitation of African resources. The consequences of this event have had lasting impacts on African societies, economies, and political structures, shaping the continent's history into the modern era.

The Berlin Conference of 1884 initiated the Scramble for Africa, leading to widespread colonial exploitation. This geopolitical shift inspired anti-colonial poetry, with figures like Aimé Césaire critiquing the cultural erasure and human suffering inflicted by imperialism, shaping a new literary consciousness.