Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier, also known as Tiradentes (Tooth Puller) was the leader of the first organized movement against Portuguese rule in Brasil in 1789. He was born in 1748 near Sao Joao del Rei in Minas Gerais. He was reasonably well educated and worked as a physician, merchant and dentist. Influenced by the American Revolution and the French Philosophes he organized the Inconfidencia Mineira in Minas Gerais advocating complete independence from Portugal. An attempt by Portuguese of...