The Inconfidência Mineira or Mine Conjuration was a separatist movement that took place in the then captaincy of Minas Gerais in 1789.
The objective was to proclaim an independent Republic, create a university and abolish debts to the Royal Treasury.
The movement, however, was discovered before the day set for the outbreak on account of a whistleblower and its leaders were arrested and sentenced.
Causes of the Inconfidência Mineira
From 1760 onwards, production began to decline annually. Even with the decrease in gold extraction, the system and the value of collecting the fifths owed to the crown remained the same.
When the gold delivered did not reach 100 arrobas (about 1500 kg) per year, the “spill” was decreed. This consisted of charging the population, by force of arms, for the missing amount.
Despite being enacted only once, there was always the threat that the spill could become a reality and this frightened both gold explorers and the population.
The cost of living throughout the region increased, as everything was bought on credit and with gold. In this way, the officials who held the monopoly of the metal began to get into debt.
As a result, they stopped making payments to traders, farmers and slave traders who were also dragged into the crisis.
Likewise, the “Alvará de 1785” aggravated the situation. This law determined the closure of local manufactures, prohibiting the manufacture of fabrics of any kind. This forced the population to consume only imported and high-priced products.
Also the ideas of the Enlightenment that preached themes such as freedom for the people and questioning the current political order, circulated through the captaincy of Minas Gerais despite censorship. These ideas were brought by Brazilian students who had taken higher education courses in Europe and through books.
It cannot be forgotten that those involved in this conspiracy took the Independence of the United States as an example. There, the colonists, revolted against the tax system of their metropolis, had achieved independence from England. This encouraged the mining elite to conspire against the metropolis.
Os Inconfidentes:leaders of the Inconfidência Mineira
The conspirators were, for the most part, large landowners, miners, priests and scholars, such as Cláudio Manuel da Costa. Coming from a family rich in mining, he had studied in Coimbra and was a high official in the colonial administration. For his part, Alvarenga Peixoto was a miner and landowner.
Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, writer and poet, after studying legal in Europe, became an ombudsman (judge) in Vila Rica.
Francisco de Paula Freire, lieutenant colonel and commander of the Regiment dos Dragões (military troop from Minas Gerais), was hierarchically just below the governor.
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, called Tiradentes, was the son of a small farmer and made a living as a soldier, dentist, drover and merchant.
He was the most popular among the conspirators and, although he was not the originator of the movement, he played an important role in the propagation of revolutionary ideas among the population.
See also :Gold Cycle
Objectives of the Inconfidência Mineira
The Inconfidentes had a series of proposals for the captaincy of Minas Gerais as:
- Break with Portugal and adopt a republican regime (the capital would be São João del Rei);
- Create industries;
- Found a university in Vila Rica;
- End the Portuguese commercial monopoly;
- Adopting mandatory military service;
- Instituting local parliaments that would be subordinate to a regional parliament.
The flag of the new country would be a flag that would contain the Latin phrase Libertas quae sera tamen (Freedom even late). Later, a similar design and motto would be the basis for the creation of the flag of the State of Minas Gerais.
The revolt was supposed to start on the day of the spill, which the government had scheduled for 1788 and ended up suspending when it learned of the conspiracy.
The inconfidentes' plans were thwarted because three participants in the conspiracy sought out the governor, Visconde de Barbacena, to report the movement.
They were:Colonel Joaquim Silvério dos Reis, Lieutenant Colonel Basilio de Brito Malheiro do Lago and the (military) field master Inácio Correia Pamplona.
Tiradentes, who was traveling to Rio de Janeiro to acquire weapons, was arrested in that city on May 10, 1789.
After three years of being prosecuted, all participants were pardoned or sentenced to exile. Only Tiradentes was sentenced to death and executed on April 21, 1792, in the São Domingos camp, in Rio de Janeiro. After the sentence was served, the body was dismembered and exposed to public execration.
However, the figure of Tiradentes would be recovered by the republican regime that turned him into a martyr for freedom. Even April 21, the date of Tiradentes' death, is a national holiday, Tiradentes Day, in order to remember the Inconfidência Mineira.
Inconfidence or Mining Conjuration?
The term "Inconfidência" has been questioned by some scholars.
"Inconfidência" means "lack of faith or fidelity, especially in relation to the State or a sovereign", according to the Portuguese Online Dictionary. For its part, the word "conjuration" is defined as "Association of persons who, secretly or clandestinely, conspire against a government" by the same dictionary.
The term "inconfidente" would be the view of the metropolis in relation to those involved and, hardly, they would like this word to describe these events.
Historian Kenneth Maxwell expressed himself in these terms about this discussion, on the occasion of the Bicentennial of Inconfidência, in 1989:
Bahia Conjuration
The Conjuração Baiana or Revolta dos Alfaiates was a movement that took place in Salvador (BA) with the aim of proclaiming the independence of this province.
It was also influenced by the Enlightenment and its members were reported to the governor who arrested the participants before the plans were put into practice.
Therefore, we see that both revolts have the same historical context and have similar objectives.
See also:Conjuração Baiana (1798)Bibliographic References
MAXWELL, Kenneth. Mining Conjuration:New Aspects. Study Av., São Paulo, v. 3, no. 6, p. 04-24, Aug. 1989 Available from . access on 22 June 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-40141989000200002.