Abstract
The territory of Belgium has always been subject to the influence of both the German and Latin world. So when Belgium separated from the Northern Netherlands in 1830, a cultural pluralism was already there. It is those differences in language, culture and so on between the different parts of the country that led to the reform of the State. Major steps in the reform of the State were the laws on the use of official languages between 1873 and 1963. Those laws recognize French, Dutch and German as official languages of Belgium.
