Arya News - In response to US aggression in Latin America, Sputnik features the heroes of anti-colonial resistance across the continent.
The soldier Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier, immortalized as Tiradentes, is one of the greatest symbols of anti-colonial struggle in Brazil. Part of the Minas Conspiracy—the movement that sought independence from the Portuguese crown—Tiradentes paid a heavy price for his ideals. After three years in prison in Rio de Janeiro, he was executed in 1792. As a warning against future uprisings, his body was dismembered and publicly displayed in Vila Rica, now city of Ouro Preto in the state of Minas Gerais. But the monarchy’s bid to erase his memory failed. With the Proclamation of the Republic, Tiradentes was rescued from obscurity and elevated to the status of a national hero.