Africans are far from uniform. In fact, they are very diverse. This diversity is largely due to a very varied and often hostile terrain. Africa is home to deserts, savannahs, tropical rainforests, and other areas of vegetation, including a northern part of the continent that sits on the Mediterranean Sea and benefits from its climate. The history of Africa is closely linked to the need to overcome hostile environments. The tsetse fly, which carries “sleeping sickness”, prohibited the breeding of livestock and therefore the transport of goods on a large part of the continent. The Sahara Desert provided a natural barrier that prevented all but those accustomed to the world's largest desert from entering sub-Saharan West Africa. Those who crossed the desert, mostly Berbers, created trading networks with the peoples of West Africa. The Berbers also introduced Islam, which was the largest external influence on Africa before the slave trade, to West Africa. A great West African empire, Mali, was founded by Sundiata in the 11th century according to oral tradition. With a centralized and militarized government, Mali was a powerful and advanced civilization: the rival of all European civilizations of the time. A later ruler, Mansa Musa, was the first to perform the Haaj. He also made Timbuktu an important center of learning. As a gold-producing empire, Mali was not only powerful but incredibly wealthy. Other West African societies, such as the Igbo, were so-called "stateless" societies because they lacked a centralized state with a recognized leader. They were “quasi-democratic” and were governed by assemblies. Although such societies could be quite advanced, Europeans considered them uncivilized due to their lack of hierarchical government. Is...... middle of paper ...... influences have become more widespread. Government took many forms, and cultural practices diverged significantly across the continent. Some societies were matrilineal; others were patrilineal. To speak of Africans as a uniform people is extremely misleading. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, they shared certain qualities. First, they viewed control of people in the same way that Europeans viewed control of land. This was due to the abundance of land and lack of labor. Africans were also a people who migrated often. Although environmental challenges varied from continent to continent, they were present across virtually the entire continent, making taming common to all its inhabitants equally. Finally, whatever differences may have existed in Africa before the Europeans, the societies had a collectivist character..