Those of you who may know a bit of brazilian history may have heard of the "Inconfidência Mineira", which was a civil conspiracy in the region of Minas Gerais, with intent on seceeding the colony or at least the region in which the conspirators operated.
The brazilian populace, at the time, was very angry at the system of gold taxation imposed on them by the portuguese crown: every 20% of the ammounts of gold found by prospectors had to be collected by government agents and shipped back to portugal. This practice was known as the "Fifth". This has even led to a common insult in modern brazil, "vá para o quinto dos infernos", which translates roughly to "go to the Fifth of hell", which means the same as "go to hell".
The conspiracy was led by a small group of civilians led by a guy known as Joaquim José Da Silva Xavier, also known as Tiradentes because he once worked as a dentist. Eventually, the group was betrayed by a snitch known as Joaquim Silvério Dos Reis, who sought to regain support from the crown due to his debts. The group was arrested, most of its members were either sentenced to life-in-prison or exile, while the rest was sentenced to death. Tiradentes was the one most brutally executed because of his leadership, his dismembered body pieces hung across many villages across the region in order to discourage unrest. In the long term, this would be a mistake, as Tiradentes has been immortalized as a national symbol, the Martyr Of The Inconfidence.
--
But what if Silvério never betrayed the group, either by convincement or by never having been indebted in the first place? Would a revolution be likely to happen? And if so, would it succeed in creating an independent state?
The brazilian populace, at the time, was very angry at the system of gold taxation imposed on them by the portuguese crown: every 20% of the ammounts of gold found by prospectors had to be collected by government agents and shipped back to portugal. This practice was known as the "Fifth". This has even led to a common insult in modern brazil, "vá para o quinto dos infernos", which translates roughly to "go to the Fifth of hell", which means the same as "go to hell".
The conspiracy was led by a small group of civilians led by a guy known as Joaquim José Da Silva Xavier, also known as Tiradentes because he once worked as a dentist. Eventually, the group was betrayed by a snitch known as Joaquim Silvério Dos Reis, who sought to regain support from the crown due to his debts. The group was arrested, most of its members were either sentenced to life-in-prison or exile, while the rest was sentenced to death. Tiradentes was the one most brutally executed because of his leadership, his dismembered body pieces hung across many villages across the region in order to discourage unrest. In the long term, this would be a mistake, as Tiradentes has been immortalized as a national symbol, the Martyr Of The Inconfidence.
--
But what if Silvério never betrayed the group, either by convincement or by never having been indebted in the first place? Would a revolution be likely to happen? And if so, would it succeed in creating an independent state?
Last edited: