Quote:
Originally Posted by Theobald
The idea of Belgium was strongly supported by British freemasons and thus British governement as a way to counter French ambitions in this area; the Napoleonic era was still a nightmare for many Brits and especially they wanted the port of Antwerp to stay out of French hands. French claims to Belgium only stopped in 1871 with the fall of the Second Empire by the way.
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Yes, but Belgium, before it became independent state in 1830, had been part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, although for a short period of time (1815-1830).