nPostednon April 21, 2015
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nInalways feel a slight “uh-oh” feeling when I see that people are celebrating thenanniversary of someone’s death rather than of his or her birth. Insteel myself for what might be one of those sad stories.
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nAndnthis IS one of those sad stories!
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nJoaquimnJose da Silva Xavier was born on November 12, 1746, in the Portuguesencolony of Brazil. He was born in a poor family, and he became ancattle driver, a miner, and a dentist. Being a dentist was not asnrespected and well-paid back then; it was a position that required nonmedical education. It is because of this job that Xavier became knownnas Tiradentes (“Tooth-Puller”).
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nAndnbecause of this national hero, there is now a holiday and a town innBrazil called “Tooth-Puller” (Tiradentes)!
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nAnothernjob Tiradentes had was being a public official. He ended up travelingnall through Brazil, and he saw for himself how much gold was beingntaken out of Brazil, and sent to Portugal. He discovered how valuablenthe gold was and began to realize that his people and his land werenbeing exploited by their European colonizers.
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nHenlearned something else, too. He learned about the American and FrenchnRevolutions. It wasn’t surprising that he eventually decided that Braziliansnshould overthrow their Portuguese rulers.
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nTiradentesnorganized a rebellion, but he was betrayed by one of his trustednpartners. He and other group members were arrested. At the trial,nTiradentes took full responsibility for the movement, and when he andnten other group members were sentenced to death, the others had theirnsentences commuted (reduced to imprisonment).
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nBut Tiradentes was hanged. n
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n ThenPortuguese rulers tried to frighted all the Brazilians by displaying Tiradentes’s body publicly – “Don’t listen to those crazy ideas ofnindependence, or this will happen to you!” was probably theirnmessage. But thirty years after Tiradentes’s death – on this datenin 1792 – Brazil became independent of Portugal!
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nAnd of course, at that point, Tiradentes became an honored national hero – one of Brazil’s first martyrs.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAuthornCharlotte Bronte’s birthday
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nKindergartennDay
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nJohnnMuir Day
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nKartininDay in Indonesia
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nAnniversary of Henry VIII becoming king
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nMayn holidays
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nMayn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in May
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