Minas Gerais Conspiracy
1789 CE.
Shown on the map at -20.400°, -43.500°.
The Inconfidência Mineira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ĩkõfiˈdẽsiɐ miˈnejɾɐ]; "Minas Gerais Conspiracy") was an unsuccessful separatist movement in Colonial Brazil in 1789. It was the result of a confluence of external and internal causes. The external inspiration was the independence of thirteen British colonies in North America following the American Revolutionary War, a development that impressed the intellectual elite of particularly the captaincy of Minas Gerais. The main internal cause of the conspiracy was the decline of gold mining in that captaincy. As gold became less plentiful, the region's gold miners faced increasing difficulties in fulfilling tax obligations to the Portuguese crown (the tax over gold was one-fifth). When the captaincy could not satisfy the royal demand for gold, it was burdened with an additional tax on gold, called derrama. Conspirators seeking independence from Portugal planned to rise up in rebellion on the day that the derrama would be instituted. However, the conspirators lacked both well-formed plans and an overall leader. Some of the conspirators were republicans, others were monarchists.
Text from the Wikipedia article Inconfidência Mineira, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.