The nation-state promoted economic unity, first by abolishing internal
customs and
tolls. In Germany this process - the creation of the
Zollverein - preceded formal national unity. Nation-states typically have a policy to create and maintain a national transportation infrastructure, facilitating trade and travel. In 19th-century Europe, the expansion of the
rail transport networks was at first largely a matter for
private railway companies, but gradually came under control of the national governments. The French rail network, with its main lines radiating from Paris to all corners of France, is often seen as a reflection of the centralised French nation-state, which
directed its construction. Nation-states continue to build, for instance, specifically national
motorway networks. Specifically trans-national infrastructure programmes, such as the
Trans-European Networks, are a recent innovation. The nation-states typically had a more centralised and uniform
public administration than its imperial predecessors: they were smaller, and the population less diverse. (The internal diversity of, for instance, the
Ottoman Empire was very great). After the triumph of the nation-state in Europe, regional identity was subordinate to national identity, in regions such as
Alsace-Lorraine,
Catalonia,
Brittany,
Sicily,
Sardinia and
Corsica. In many cases, the regional administration was also subordinated to central (national) government. This process was partially reversed from the 1970s onward, with the introduction of various forms of
regional autonomy, in formerly
centralised states such as
France. However, the most obvious impact of the nation-state, as compared to its non-national predecessors, is the creation of a uniform national
culture, through state policy. The model of the nation-state implies that its population constitute a
nation, united by a common descent, a common language, and many forms of shared culture. When the implied unity was absent, the nation-state often tried to create it. It promoted a uniform national language, through
language policy. (When
Italy was united as a political entity, the majority of the population could not speak
Italian.)