Vormärz was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the fall of Napoleon and the establishment of the German Confederation in 1815. Others, typically those who emphasise the Vormärz as a period of political uprising, place the beginning at the French July Revolution of 1830.

In Northern European historiography, the term French period refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napoleonic France. The exact duration of the period varies by the location concerned.