Tiradentes

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (Tiradentes)
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, being hanged.
Born	November 12, 1746 Fazenda do Pombal (Tiradentes), Minas Gerais, Portuguese Colony of Brazil
Died	April 21, 1792 (aged 45) Rio de Janeiro, Portuguese Colony of Brazil
Other names	Tiradentes
Movement	Inconfidência Mineira

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier ([ʒwaˈkĩ ʒuˈzɛ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ ʃɐviˈɛʁ]; November 12, 1746 – April 21, 1792), known as Tiradentes (IPA: [tʃiɾɐˈdẽtʃis]), was a leading member of the Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira whose aim was full independence from the Portuguese colonial power and to create a Brazilian republic. When the plan was discovered, Tiradentes was arrested, tried and publicly hanged. Since the 19th century he has been considered a national hero of Brazil and patron of the Military Police.

Born to a poor family in a farm in Pombal, Ritápolis, near to São João del Rey, Minas Gerais, Tiradentes was adopted by his godfather and moved to Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto) after the deaths of his parents (mother in 1755; father in 1757).

Tiradentes was raised by a tutor, who was a surgeon. His lack of formal education didn't stop him from working in several fields, including dental medicine; Tiradentes means "tooth puller", a pejorative denomination adopted during the trial against him. He practiced several professions—cattle driver, miner, dentist—and was a member of the Minas Gerais Dragoon Regiment. As Tiradentes was not a member of the local aristocracy, he was systematically overlooked for promotion and never rose above the rank of alferes (2nd lieutenant).

Living in a state rich in gold, Tiradentes used the knowledge he acquired about minerals to enter the public service (he achieved the rank of alferes, low in the hierarchy of the epoch), and he was sent to missions in cities along the road between Vila Rica (the capital of Minas Gerais) and Rio de Janeiro; this road was the "open vein" used to export most of the gold to Portugal.