  Violent relaxation -- the protocluster dynamical response to the expulsion of
its residual star forming gas -- is a short albeit crucial episode in the
evolution of star clusters and star cluster systems. Because it is heavily
driven by cluster formation and environmental conditions, it is a potentially
highly rewarding phase in terms of probing star formation and galaxy evolution.
In this contribution I review how cluster formation and environmental
conditions affect the shape of the young cluster mass function and the relation
between the present star formation rate of galaxies and the mass of their young
most massive cluster.
