Beginning prominently in 1881 with the Berlin Conference, European powers engaged in the Scramble for Africa, rapidly colonizing the continent to secure resources, markets, and strategic territories. Driven by economic ambitions and national rivalries, this period redrew Africa's map with arbitrary borders. It had lasting impacts on global geopolitics, economies, and cultures, fueling themes of imperialism, identity, and resistance explored in literature and poetry from colonized regions.

The Scramble for Africa in 1881 was portrayed by writers like Joseph Conrad, who depicted imperial greed in modernist prose-poetry hybrids. This period inspired poets to critique colonialism and its impact on identity and culture, shaping a legacy of resistance in literature.