They eventually also fought Rome in the Punic Wars of 265–146 BC but lost because they were limited in numbers, and talented commanders, had a misguided strategy in Hannibal's invasion of Italy, and misjudged the strength of their navy, especially in the first Punic War. They were soundly defeated by Scipio Africanus in Africa in 202 BC. That enabled Roman settlement of Africa and eventual domination of the Mediterranean Sea. Cato the Elder famously ended all his speeches, regardless of their subject, with the imperative that Carthage be utterly crushed, a view summarised in Latin by the phrase "Praeterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" meaning, "Moreover, I declare, Carthage must be destroyed!". Although the Carthaginians were eventually conquered in 146 BC, with their city destroyed, Cato never got to see his victory, having died 3 years earlier.