So on my current game I'm playing as Arabia and have become the most powerful nation in the continent. I eliminated my northern neighbor of Songhai, severely straining relations with the other civs. Yesterday, the city of Dublin asked for my help in fighting Vienna. Seeing as how Vienna had access to one of the largest coal mines in the continent and the fact that I needed coal to build my ironclad fleet, I accepted the offer and declared war on Vienna.

Naturally, some of the city-states decided to declare war on me as well, due to my aggressive playing style. Sending my fleet to bombard Vienna, I took it within 10-15 turns and sent troops to secure the site. At the same time, Dublin declared war on the other city-states as well.

Now here's where I have a bit of a dilemma: should I continue the war or stop fighting the city-states and focus on trade? I'm afraid the other civs will see my conquering as a threat and declare war on me.