When was Belgium established as a nation state?
Nation state
Belgium is a classic example of a state that is not a nation state. The state was formed by secession from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830, whose neutrality and integrity was protected by the Treaty of London 1839; thus it served as a buffer state after the Napoleonic Wars between the European powers France, Prussia (after 1871 the German Empire) and the United Kingdom until World War I, when its neutrality was breached by the Germans. Currently, Belgium is divided between the Flemings in the north and the French-speaking or the German-speaking population in the south. The Flemish population in the north speaks Dutch, the Walloon population in the south speaks French or German. The Brussels population speaks French or Dutch.
History of rail transport in Belgium
In 1870, the Belgian state owned of rail lines, while the private enterprises owned . From 1870 to 1882, the railways were gradually nationalised. In 1912, were state property compared to of private lines. Full nationalisation was considered at the time, but was not enacted until 1926 when the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB-NMBS) was started, replacing the earlier "Chemins de fer de l'État belge". By 1958 the network was fully state-owned. 