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. The era also saw a gradual shift in developments from Germany being a country primarily based on agriculture to one evolving into an industrial society during the late Industrial Revolution. This was accompanied by developments in science, literacy, literature and political awareness.