Tiradentes
Joaquim Jos da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes , was part of the
Brazilian seditious movement known as the Inconfidncia Mineira.
Born in So Jos del Rei ,
Minas Gerais, Tiradentes was adopted by his godfather and moved to Vila Rica after the deaths of his parents . He practiced several professions — cattle driver, miner,
dentist — and was a member of the Regimento dos Drages de Minas Gerais militia. As Tiradentes was not a member of the local aristocracy, he was systematically overlooked for promotion and never rose above the rank of
alferes .
Encyclopedia
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as
Tiradentes , was part of the
Brazilian seditious movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira.
Born in São José del Rei ,
Minas Gerais, Tiradentes was adopted by his godfather and moved to Vila Rica after the deaths of his parents . He practiced several professions — cattle driver, miner,
dentist — and was a member of the Regimento dos Dragões de Minas Gerais militia. As Tiradentes was not a member of the local aristocracy, he was systematically overlooked for promotion and never rose above the rank of
alferes .
Influenced by the writings of
Rousseau, and by the
American and
French Revolutions, Tiradentes joined with a number of like-minded citizens in the Inconfidência. Rejecting
Portuguese taxation and rule, they wanted to found a republic with its capital at São João del Rei and to create a university. The proposed flag for the new republic bore the
Latin motto "Libertas quae sera tamem" .
The plot was betrayed and Tiradentes and 11 others were sentenced to death. Other members of the Inconfidência were sentenced to public whippings and life imprisonment. Of those sentenced to death, only Tiradentes was
executed. He was
hanged on April 21, 1792, in
Rio de Janeiro. His body was quartered and his head displayed publicly in the Vila Rica square as a warning to other revolutionaries.
He began being considered a national hero by the republicans in the late
19th century, and after the republic was proclaimed in Brazil in 1889 the anniversary of his death became a national holiday.
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