Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, was a leading member of the colonial Brazilian revolutionary movement known as Inconfidencia Mineira, whose aim was full independence from Portuguese colonial rule and creation of a republic.
16 Facts About Tiradentes
2.
Since the advent of the Brazilian Republic, Tiradentes has been considered a national hero of Brazil and patron of the Military Police.
3.
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 Sao Joao del-Rei and Tiradentes, in the Captaincy of Minas Gerais.
4.
Tiradentes worked as a peddler and a miner, and he became a partner in a pharmacy in Vila Rica.
5.
Tiradentes dedicated himself to pharmaceutical practices and dentistry, which earned him the nickname Tiradentes.
6.
Tiradentes occasionally worked as a doctor in light of knowledge about medicinal plants acquired with his cousin, Brother Jose Mariano da Conceicao Veloso, a celebrated botanist of the time.
7.
Tiradentes used knowledge he acquired about minerals while working as a miner to enter the public service as a terrain surveyor.
8.
Tiradentes later joined the Minas Gerais Dragoon Regiment, where he was given command of a detachment and sent on missions to cities along "Caminho Novo", a road between Vila Rica and Rio de Janeiro through which gold was sent to the coast, ultimately to be shipped to Portugal.
9.
Over time, witnessing the transit of goods along Caminho Novo, Tiradentes started to perceive the massive exportation of gold and other valuable resources to the metropolis as exploitation to which Brazilians were subjected.
10.
Tiradentes grew dissatisfied with his relatively low rank: not a member of the local aristocracy, he was systematically overlooked for promotion, never rising above alferes, and was eventually dismissed from his commanding post.
11.
In 1788, Tiradentes met Jose Alvares Maciel, a son of Vila Rica's army's commandant who had just returned from England.
12.
Tiradentes was sentenced to death, along with ten other inconfidentes.
13.
Such was the case of Tiradentes, who took full responsibility for the movement.
14.
Tiradentes's head landed in Ouro Preto but was lost.
15.
Tiradentes began to be considered a national hero by the republicans in the late 19th century.
16.
The 11th Mountain Infantry Battalion, "Tiradentes" Regiment, named after the hero, is currently operational in the Brazilian Army.