Foreign relations between Belgium and Mexico commenced in 1836, when Belgium—itself newly independent—recognized the independence of Mexico. In 1919, the Belgian Chamber of Commerce of Mexico was established. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations. History In the 16th century, Belgian tradespeople traveled to what would become Mexico. In 1537, Belgians began Mexico's first brewery. Starting in the 1830s, Belgian engineers worked in Mexico to build the first Mexican railroad with Belgian materials; there were even plans for a Nueva Bélgica, a colony to be built in Chihuahua. Diplomatic relations were started in 1825 when Mexico established consular relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium became independent in 1830, and in 1838, representatives were sent to Mexico. The first consulate-level representatives were sent to Mexico in 1842. In 1861, both nations signed a Treaty of Friendship thus formally establishing diplomatic relations. In 1861, France, under Emperor Napoleon III, and at the invitation of Mexican conservatives and nobility, sent troops to invade Mexico and to help create the Second Mexican Empire. While the French were in Mexico (also known as the Second French intervention in Mexico), Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium (known as Carlota of Mexico) succeeded the throne in 1864. During the Battle of Tacámbaro on 11 April 1865, 300 Belgian Legion soldiers fighting for the Mexican Empire fought against Mexican Republicans (those who fought for President Benito Juárez). Several dozen Belgian soldiers were killed during the battle. When Emperor Maximilian I faced execution, Belgium instructed its representative, Hoorickx, to assist the Austrian ambassador's ultimately failed efforts to persuade the Mexicans to grant clemency. After the execution of Emperor Maximilian I in 1867, Belgium and Mexico would not establish diplomatic relations until 1879. In 1890 Belgium invested US$1.2 million to open a silver and copper mine in Michoacán. In 1900 Baron Moncheur, the Belgian Minister in Mexico, wrote a study of the conditions and resources of southern Mexican states while "contributing in great measure to the development of the commercial relations between Belgium and Mexico." In 1903 the National Railroad of Mexico, in which the Mexican Government had a large financial interest, opened a standard gauge line. The turning of the previous narrow gauge railroad into a standard gauge railroad was accomplished with 25,000 tons of rails from Belgium. By 1913 the National Railroad of