Today is a national holiday in Brazil, called Dia de Tiradentes, or Tiradentes Day.

This holiday honors a Brazilian martyr, whose real name was Joaquim José da Silva Xavier. He was born in Minas Gerais in 1746, the son of a Portuguese father and a Brazilian mother. He was orphaned at the age of 11, and he became a street vendor to support himself. Later, he became a dentist, which is where he got his apelido (nickname), Tiradentes, which literally means teeth puller.

Tiradentes then began a career in the military. He found that the Imperial Crown was taxing Brazilian-born citizens for mineral weath produced in his state, whereas Portuguese-born colonists were favored and given advantages. Discontent arose, and a movement emerged called the “Inconfidência Mineira” which opposed the taxes and favored an independent Brazil. Tiradentes joined the movement, made up largely of intellectuals, which not only favored independence but also the abolition of slavery.

However, there was a traitor in the group who reported the movement to the authorities, and everyone was imprisoned. The movement fell apart, but Tiradentes remained firm in his dream of an independent Brazil. But his efforts were cut short on April 21, 1792, when he was hanged in Rio de Janeiro on charges of high treason. His captors quartered his body and scattered the pieces throughout the city as a warning to others with revolutionary ideas.

Today, he is considered a martyr and a national hero, and he is honored on the anniversary of his death.