Tension built between Rome and Carthage, finally reaching the breaking point in 264 BC. The first Punic War started because Rome was afraid that Carthage would control the Mediterranean Sea and Carthage feared that Rome would conquer their colonies on the island of Sicily. When the war began, Rome used land tactics at sea which hadn’t been done before. Their newly formed navy would ram enemy ships and use “boarding bridges” to board Carthaginian ships. This allowed them to do something they were good at: hand-to-hand combat. After twenty-three years of fighting, Carthage finally asked for peace. The Romans granted it to them, for a price. Carthage had to pay a large amount of money and give up their colonies on Sicily. The second Punic
