The American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions: the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American wars of independence. Aftershocks reached Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, in the PolishâLithuanian Commonwealth, and in the Netherlands.
A reconstruction of Homo erectus, the earliest human species that is known to have controlled fire (reconstruction shown in WestfÃ¤lisches Landesmuseum, Herne, Germany, in a 2006 exhibition)
The development of human characteristics took place over millions of years. The earliest primate (an order of mammals that includes humans, apes, and monkeys), no bigger than a rat, appeared 60 million years ago. About 10 million years ago, the Ramapithecus showed remarkable hominoid attributes. But there is no further evidence until 6 million years later. The first generally accepted hominoid is called Australopithecus, and some believe they are actually the most primitive of the human lineage. Homo habilis, dating back at least 2 million years in modern-day Africa, is undisputedly human.