Phoenician colonization

The Tyrians plant colonies westward: first trading stations on Cyprus, Sicily and Sardinia, then Utica and Carthage on the African shore, and Gadir beyond Gibraltar, at the very ocean. They are driven by metals — Spanish silver, and tin from the far northern isles — and by the need for safe harbours a day's sail apart. Carthage outgrows its mother city and builds a power of its own, which six centuries later will meet Rome in the Punic Wars. Along with the goods, the Phoenician script spreads by sea — and from it the Greek and Latin alphabets will grow.