In the First Punic War, Rome was at war with Carthage. They had only just finished conquering (most of) the Italian peninsula, and had basically no navy. In the middle of the war, however, they got a hold of a Carthaginian ship and copied it to make huge amounts of their own ships. The Carthaginians still had better ships and training, and won most naval battles. However, the Romans invented the corvus which allowed the Romans to board Carthaginian ships much more easily. Eventually the Romans got a naval advantage and the Carthaginians' smaller numbers meant that the Romans soon dominated the sea.
Was it possible for Carthage to keep its naval dominance? If the Carthaginian was stronger/bigger (or if the Romans were never able to create an effective navy), would that mean that Carthage would have had a better chance to win the wars? Would Hamilcar Barca have better supplies and resources to use to fight the Romans? If Carthage eventually grew a large enough navy, would it have been possible for them to blockade Italy and cripple the Romans? What do you guys think?