The first Punic War happened because after the Carthage helped the city of Messina drive away the attackers for the second time they wanted some sort of compensation for their help and this being the second time they had asked for something in return they were denied.(1) The city of Messina turned to the Romans for help and the Romans drove all the Phoenicians out of Messina, which then made it easier for the Romans to attack all of Carthage. For twenty-three years this war went on until a peace treaty was signed and Carthage had lost to Sicily and to Rome.(2) Then a few years later the Romans had broken the peace treaty and attacked to more cities Sardinia and Corsica and since the Carthage army was too weak to do anything about it they lost those cities. The second Punic War was based on revenge to pay back Rome for everything it took from them this War was going very well for Carthage, they had a very large army and where defeating Romans at every chance they got. They Carthage though could never take the city of Rome though and that seemed to be there downfall , and eventually Rome was able to rebuild their army where a final battle accord in Zama in which the Romans won and then the war was over.(3) These wars being won and lost was creating lands all over the place of the wars for who ever won would then occupy the land, so the more you won the more land you had to control as long as you could keep it up and safe. It was seen as a pivotal turning point because Rome had conquered so many new lands that they were now to tend to and try and make some more money off the new owned land.
John McKay, A History of World Societies (Boston, Massachusetts: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012), page 150
1 Ibid
2 Ibid
Sanford Holst, War and Peace: Phoenician Society (http://www.phoenician.org/punic_wars_and_peace.htm, 2007
3 Ibid