Gonsalo Garcia, O.F.M. (; 1556 – 5 February 1597), was a lay brother of the Franciscans from Portuguese Bombay and Bassein in early modern India. He died a Christian martyr in the 16th-century Shogunate of Japan, and was canonised a saint along with his companions, the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan. He was born at Bassein (Vasai), Baçaim in the Indo-Portuguese era, an exurban town of the present-day Greater Bombay metropolis. Historical background Bassein (Vasai) is about 30 miles north of Bombay. The Portuguese began their presence on the western coast of India with the arrival in 1498 of Vasco da Gama at the harbour of Calicut (Kozhikode). John III of Portugal appointed Nuno da Cunha as the Governor of Goa. Under his leadership, the Portuguese started attempts to conquer Diu from the sultan of Guzerat. Taking Bassein was part of this effort. After a series of conflicts, Da Cunha took control of the town with the Treaty of Bassein in December 1534. Construction of the Fort of St Sebastian commenced in 1536. The area was prized for its timber for ship-building. Its fertility and position, together with its healthy climate, made it a commercial centre of some importance, and the home of many Portuguese noblemen. and took on characteristics of a European city. The prosperity of Bassein increased such that it was considered among the richest cities among the Portuguese colonies in the world at that time. It became the capital of the Portuguese Province of the North of India; Goa being the capital of Portuguese Province of South. The Portuguese ruled the area for over 200 years. Biography Early life Garcia was born in 1557. Documents in the Lisbon Archives (ANTT) describe him as (a resident of Agashi village) in Bassein. His father was a Portuguese soldier and his mother a Canarim as the Portuguese called the inhabitants of the Konkan. Modern scholars such as Gense and Conti accept the fact that Gonsalo's mother was from Bassein. As the child of a European father and an Indian mother he was a mestiço in the Portuguese sense of term. The fort was reserved for the European people and their servants. According to the policy adopted by the Portuguese colonial government, any Portuguese who got married with a local woman was given certain privileges. So Garcia's father was permitted to quit the job and stayed in the fort as a civilian