During the course of the 18th century, European philosophy, politics, and ideals were entirely reimagined, causing a rippling effect throughout the Old World and its countries colonies. The line between natural and legal rights was further defined by philosophers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Bacon. Locke wrote about the trinity of Life, Liberty, and Property, which inspired the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, and the Constitution of the United States. After the British colonies gained their independence from Britain, many people living in the Portuguese colonies believed it was also their legal right to fight for their natural rights. The Inconfidência Mineira Movement was a revolution of people from all walks of life, including chemists, philosophers, lieutenants, lawyers, poets, and priests. The movement fought against the exploitation of labor. The movement dealt with disenfranchisement; secondary issues were slavery, promotion of the economy, and other minor social problems.
In its revolt against the Portuguese crown and its fight for Brazilian independence, the movement was symbolic more than anything as it ultimately failed. However, by analyzing the movement before its untimely end and along with its leaders from both a social and political standpoint, one can study the disenfranchisement of the Brazilians by the Portuguese, the roots of independence in Brazil and the cruelty/injustices that the Portuguese crown imposed on the Brazilian. Subsequently, the reader will be able to relate the topics pulled from the analysis, such as disenfranchisement and injustice, to writings by Brazilian authors such as Beatriz Bracher, Machado de Assis, and Frances de Pontes Peebles.
Towards the end of the 17th century, gold was found in the Brazilian province Minas Gerais when it was under Portuguese rule. This discovery was so great that by the beginning of the 18th century, “a considerable proportion of Sao Paulo’s, Rio de Janeiro’s and the northern province of Bahia’s population had rushed to the site of the discovery” (The Brazilian gold rush). Furthermore, thousands of people living in Portuguese traveled to Brazil in a search for gold. The Portuguese crown decided that twenty percent of all gold found in the region would go towards the Portuguese treasury (Inconfidência Mineira). After the gold rush ended and gold became scarce, Portugal created “the Derrama,” which forced provinces to pay a tax of 1500 Kilos of gold, which is equivalent to just over sixty million dollars. Those who did not pay taxes either had their homes rummaged through or were sent to work in African territory(Inconfidência Mineira). In essence, the causes of people becoming resentful of the Portuguese crown and forming the Inconfidência Mineira was the exasperation due to high taxes, minimal control over their own economic status, and cruel punishments. The movement itself was a conglomerate of people from a wide range of professions which united people through their goal of looking for a solution to the Portuguese crown being abusive and fighting for the independence of their colony. This, along with the American fight for Independence and ideas from Enlightenment thinkers, reinforced the idea of fighting for independence. The movement was not only a form of fighting for independence, but through the solidarity and the communication between people of different backgrounds, it helped to increase the relationships between different types of people and it was also one of the roots for the complex social structure with intermingling that Brazil now has.
The Inconfidência Mineira was an attempted revolt in 18th century colonial Brazil against Portuguese dominion in South America as a result of centuries of economic control, unjust taxation, and cruel punishments for colonists who broke laws. The group itself was led by a man named “Joaquim José da Silva Xavier” who was commonly referred to as “Tiradentes,” or tooth-puller as he was a dentist, whose goal was “to conquer the definitive freedom and to implant the system of republican government in [his] country” (Inconfidência Mineira). The movement gained more momentum in 1785 when the Portuguese implemented a law that banned any company from industrializing any part of Brazil. The controlling nature of the Portuguese was a very meticulous decision as it would not only serve to limit the autonomy that the Brazilians had economically, but it would also force the Brazilians to stay a Portuguese colony as their economy would rely heavily on the Portuguese. Based on the rate of production, importation, and exportation of goods of the Portuguese, the Brazilians would either be able to prosper or languish. The movement saw this close of a relationship detrimental in and of itself, again because of issues with autonomy. Because of this, they adopted a flag with a red triangle and a white background having the Latin words “Libertas Quae Sera Tamen” written on it (Inconfidência Mineira). “Libertas Quae Sera Tamen” roughly translates into “Liberty, even late,” a phrase chosen for its accurate meaning. The movement itself ultimately failed because one of the members decided to betray everyone in exchange for money. When questioned, Xavier took full responsibility and was sentenced to death. With his death, a martyr had been created. He was used as a symbol of hope and as inspiration in the fight for independence. The movement itself was very impactful because it too was seen as a symbol of both the banding together of people from different socioeconomic stratums and a monument to the ironist to which Portugal ruled the colonies with. The flag, even though it represented a failed movement, was adopted by the region of Minas Gerais as a tribute for the lasting impact of the Inconfidência Mineira. Without the Inconfidência Mineira movement, the independence in Brazil would have been delayed by a myriad of years because the movement helped to show the presence of republican and nationalist values being woven into the livelihoods of colonists living in Brazil.