Causes Of The First Punic War

To understand the causes of the first Punic War is to understand the normal chain of event almost every great nation went through. Rome just before the first war was expanding, not just through brute strength but also through diplomacy. Most of Italy had been brought under Roman rule when the first Punic War broke out, and this is were the first cause of war is found. Carthage had control over the western portion of Sicily, which threatened Syracuse, a Greek city state. Because of Rome’s diplomatic ties, the king of Syracuse called for Roman aid in defeating Carthage. This, coupled with the jealousy the Roman’s had for Carthage’s foothold on Sicily sparked the first war.

After the first war the seeds for the second were sewed in the peace treaty Rome fastened for Carthage. Overall, the treaty brought shame to Carthage, which continued Roman arrogance prompted them to wage a
Despite Carthage's defeats it began to rebuild its army as well as its trade. Because of this, a Rome was swayed by aggressive senators to primitively strike Carthage, to ensure no retaliation from Carthage. Although not mentioned in the lesson or in the book or lesson plan I believe that it was not just a fear for another retaliation that brought about the Third Punic War, I say that it was a mixture of Roman belief and their emergence as a Mediterranean power that made the leaders want to take out Carthage. The Roman belief of finishing what was started I believe drove the Romans to conquer their rival, which firmly placed them as the dominant power. However, as the book states on page 121, “Carthaginians technically broke their treaty by attacking one of Rome’s allies after they encroached on Carthage’s territories.”(Spielvogel, p.93). I still believe the Romans would have attacked even without this reasoning, perhaps even as a retaliation for what they did to Rome territories in the second