### L2324 isolated port cities have an easier time staying independent > For all their wealth, the stone towns remained independent from one another. The linear coast and limited water supplies militated against the formation of a single state. Instead, elite families maintained contact with one another and their trading partners at home and abroad. There were commercial and political alliances, the exchange of gifts, well-timed marriages, and, only rarely, military conflict. NOTE: Isolation in eastern Africa works similar to isolation in Greece and the Italian city-states of traders like Venice, it's hard to unite port cities when there are geographical obstacles between them like mountain ranges or desert. - [[Beyond the Blue Horizon by Brian Fagan#L2324 isolated port cities have an easier time staying independent|View in Vault]]