Tiradentes

Early life

Tiradentes was born on the Fazenda do Pombal, near the village of Santa Rita do Rio Abaixo, at the time disputed territory between the towns of São João del-Rei and Tiradentes, in the Captaincy of Minas Gerais in Colonial Brazil.

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier was the fourth of seven children of Portuguese-born Domingos da Silva Santos and of Brazilian-born Antônia da Encarnação Xavier.

According to his mother's 1757 inventory, there were 35 slaves on the family's large fazenda of Pombal, where they also worked as miners. A porch provided external access to an oratory, and there were slave quarters and communal kitchens. A large and valuable quantity of mining equipment was also listed in the inventory.

In 1755 after the death of his mother, he went with his father and brothers to the town of São José. Two years later, when he was 11 years old, his father died. With the premature death of his parents, his family soon lost its property due to debt. Having received no regular education, he entered under the tutelage of his uncle and godfather Sebastião Ferreira Leitão, who was a dentist. a pejorative denomination adopted during the trial against him. According to Brother Raimundo de Penaforte, Tiradentes "adorned his mouth with new teeth which he made himself that seemed natural". He also occasionally worked as a doctor in light of knowledge about medicinal plants acquired with his cousin, Brother José Mariano da Conceição Veloso, a celebrated botanist of the time.

Political ideas

Tiradentes used knowledge he acquired about minerals while working as a miner to enter the public service as a terrain surveyor.

He later joined the Minas Gerais Dragoon Regiment,

Influenced by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the American Revolution, Tiradentes joined a number of like-minded citizens in the Inconfidência Mineira, a revolutionary movement. They envisioned an independent Brazilian republic, with São João del Rei as its capital and the conversion of Vila Rica to a university town. The proposed flag for the new republic had a green triangle over a white background, surrounded by the Latin motto "Libertas Quae Sera Tamen" ("Freedom, Even If It Be Late").

Discovery, trial and execution

Tiradentes's plan was to take to the streets of Vila Rica and proclaim a Brazilian Republic on the day of the derrama, in February 1789, when tax was due to Portugal and the sentiment of revolt among Brazilians would be stronger. Joaquim Silvério dos Reis, one of the conspirators, exposed the plot in exchange for a tax waiver. The governor of Minas Gerais cancelled the derrama and ordered the imprisonment of the rebels.

His moniker, "Tiradentes", became the namesake of a city in the state of Minas Gerais, of city squares in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Ouro Preto, as well as of a major avenue in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The 11th Mountain Infantry Battalion, "Tiradentes" Regiment (11.º Batalhão de Infantaria de Montanha, Regimento "Tiradentes"''), named after the hero, has been in operation in the Brazilian Army since 1888.