Causes of the Punic Wars-Why

First Punic War
Carthage had control of much of Sicily in the 260's, which mattered little to Rome. Thus, when a quarrel arose in 264 in Messana, some sided with teh Carthaginians, and some sided with the Romans. Many thought this was a local problem, and it was, until it blew up into something big. When a Carthaginian fleet was invited into Messana, Rome felt like it had to respond in some way. Therefore, an expeditionary force was sent to expel the Punic fleet. Carthage then responded by sending out a larger force, and Rome responded in the same way. Rome quickly won many victories, but as the war went on, it was clear that to win the war, Rome would have to win control of the sea. This war lasted 20 years.

Second Punic War
A peace treaty put Carthage in an impossible position. Not long after the First Punic War, a geniune war hero arose, Hamilcar Barca, who won much of Spain. It became apparent, though, that he wouldn't be able to get revenge on the Romans, so he taught his son everything he knew, including a hatred of the Romans. Hannibal quickly established himself as an even greater leader than his father, and he marched on Rome at the age of twenty-five.

Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was a brief and unnecessary war. The Carthaginians had lost an empire, but had lost their debt with it, and were left free to pursue their own goals. The Romans tried to use much of the agricultural land they gained, but never would they be as good as the Carthaginians at it. This angered the Romans, which caused Cato the Elder to agitate against Carthage. Some feared Carthage was dangerous, and many were angry that the Carthaginians were prospering while they were not. Cato was sure that the only defense against Carthage rising again was to completely destroy it.
African tribes learned that the Carthaginians would not cross the border into Roman territory, therefore they would steal from them and return to Roman soil. This angered the Carthaginians who eventually crossed the border to attack the African tribes.
The Romans saw this as an excuse, and declared that this was violation of the treaty. War was declared.

Picture: http://www.choiceonesupport.org/Punic%20War.gif