Exploring The Differences Between Carthage And Rome In The Punic Wars

When discussing the differences between Carthage and Rome, the topic of the Punic Wars could not be ignored. It was during the first Punic War that Rome gained its powers as a naval fleet, which led them on to conquer all and win victories in all three of the Wars. However, Rome’s navy was not always part of their strong-suit; it was their army that gave them their military status. But if they wanted to take down Carthage, who owned one of the best naval fleets of their time, Rome was going to have to take them on by both land and sea. When Rome made it over to Africa, Carthage was the first foreign power outside of Italy they have ever came in contact with (ch. 14, “Carthage and Rome” section, para. 2). Rome soon realized that Carthage …show more content…
First order of business was rebuilding their ships. Lucky enough for them, there was a washed-up Carthage vessel that had wrecked on the shores. Using this as a model, Rome had built a hundred vessels in just sixty days (ch. 14, Operations of the First Punic War section, para. 4). The next thing they did was train their soldiers to become sailors, teaching them the art of rowing using makeshift “ships” that were crafted upon a hilltop. One thing that Rome knew for sure was their advantage in hand-to-hand combat. Keeping this in mind, drawbridges were constructed onto their ships to be used for boarding their enemy’s ships, allowing them to maintain this advantage. When the time came, under the command of Duilius, the Romans bombarded the Carthaginian ships, and proved their superiority in hand-to-hand (ch. 14, Operations of the First Punic War section, para. 5). The results of the war were very much in favor of the “underdogs” Romans. Many Carthage vessels either sank or were captured, allowing Rome to gain their first great sea victory, proving the Romans to be the new masters of the