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Why Romans Went To War With The Carthaginians

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The Romans went to war with the Carthaginians three times over the period of 264- 146 B.C. These three wars are known as the three Punic Wars. The first war was inevitable but the other two were not and were caused by the Romans desire for war and power. There were many reasons within the Roman society that could explain why they were so quick to fight. One of these reasons was honor. (Potter, pg.74) Men wanted to accomplish something great so that they could bring honor to their family for generations to come. Another main reason was their selfishness. (Potter, pg.74) The Romans wanted to be the best. They knew that in order to do this they needed to have many resources and well located land so that they were successful in trade.
The first Punic war took place during the span of 264- 241 BCE and is primarily known as the fight for Sicily.(Pugno) Carthage wanted to have control of Sicily because the location of the island held potential to be a great trade power. Carthage had already been in war with the people of Sicily before the Romans involved themselves. (Potter, pg.65) This war had …show more content…

The Carthaginians had a very strong fleet and were able to supply their troops in Sicily whenever needed. (Potter, pg.80) When the Romans did manage to put together a makeshift fleet they were able to defeat the Carthaginians in battle but because of their inexperience they faced a large number of casualties due to non- related factors such as storms. (Potter, pg.81) In 241 BC both sides had lost hundreds and thousands of men and were running low on resources. (Potter, pg.68) Finally, Rome was able to defeat the last Carthaginian fleet which left Carthage unable to supply their troops stationed in Italy. (Potter, pg.69) A treaty was drawn which included the ability of Carthage to keep all of their territories except for Sicily and a rather small amount of money that they must pay

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