Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒoa'kĩ ʒo'zɛ da 'siwvɐ ʃavi'ɛɾ]; 12 November 1746 – 21 April 1792), known as Tiradentes (pronounced [tʃiɾɐˈdẽtʃis]), was a leading member of the colonial Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira, whose aim was full independence from Portuguese rule and the creation of a republic.

[6] 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.

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.

In 1788, Tiradentes met José Álvares Maciel [pt], a son of Vila Rica's army's commandant who had just returned from England.

Led by clerics and other Brazilians with some social presence, like Cláudio Manuel da Costa, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga (both public servants and renowned writers) and Alvarenga Peixoto (eminent businessman), the group propagated their ideas among the people.

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").

Queen Maria I of Portugal later commuted the sentences of capital punishment to perpetual banishment for all convicts, except those whose activities involved aggravated circumstances.