In the trailer for "The Woman King" a character says that "Europeans are here to conquer us. They will not stop until the whole of Africa is their's." The film takes place in the first half of the 19th cent. At what point did Europeans and Africans have an idea that Europe will be colonizing Africa?

I read of how the Ashanti Empire was skeptical of the British in Ghana. They even once made a statement in 1817, saying that if the British claimed to come with good intentions, why did they behave very differently in India. The British diplomat, Thomas Bowdich was shocked because he didn't expect the Ashanti to know what India even was. I take it that the Ashanti knew of the unpopular British East India rule back then and they were skeptical of the British.