Carthage And Rome: The First Punic War

Carthage and Rome were two major powers but did not start this way. Carthage was a coastal city depending on its wealth. Rome depended on its people’s character. Before the Punic Wars, Rome was not seen as a major power in the Mediterranean. However, by the outbreak of the first Punic War, Rome had decent control over most of mainland Italy. Each individual community fell into a clearly defined category.
The first Punic war was a fight over control of Sicily. During this time Rome had a strong Army while Carthage had a strong Navy. During the war the king of Syracuse switched sides on multiple occasions. Also during this time Rome saw the might of the Carthaginian Navy and decided to build a larger and stronger navy. Rome had a unique way of supplying soldiers for their military. The communities conquered by Rome were given full Roman citizenship in exchange for service. Carthage used conquered subjects as well but they were not volunteers nor were they citizens. In between the first and second Punic wars Rome and Carthage saw each other as a threat and continued to consolidate power. Rome consisted of the Roman domain, Latin colonies and half independent allies in war. They needed a way to rule Sicily. They …show more content…
While Rome was fighting for territory in the north of Italy, Carthage was gaining control of Spain. Rome became threatened by the expansion of Carthage into Spain. When Hannibal gained control of the Carthaginian military he decided to attack and capture an ally of Rome. Rome sent an envoy to demand Hannibal surrender but they eventually declared war. Rome would go on to suffer many losses at the hands of Hannibal. Rome would not give up and continued to fight until victory. With the victory Rome signed a treaty with Carthage in which they had to pay Rome an indemnity for 50 years as well as turn over all Spanish territory. They could also not declare war without Roman