Discours sur le Colonialisme

Césaire, Aimé, Discours sur le colonialisme, sixième édition, Paris: Éditions Présence Africaine, 1955.

Discours sur le colonialism (Discourse on Colonialism) is a text written by Aimé Césaire and published in 1955. It is a key text of postcolonial literature.[1] Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism has been labeled “a declaration of war.”[1] It is a work focused on decolonization that is remembered for “its impact on the colonized, on culture, on history, on the very concept of civilization itself, and most importantly, on the colonizer.”[1] Césaire writes his book in a poetic style, discussing the negative effects of colonization on colonies. He uses this poetic prose style as, “a method of achieving clairvoyance, of obtaining the knowledge we need to move forward.”[1] His unique style of writing sets him apart from other postcolonial academics who published works alongside him at the same time. In Discourse on Colonialism, Césaire implicates the Europeans for constructing the negative relationship between colonizer and colonized. He criticizes Europe for constructing these colonies only to exploit them for their own benefit.