Francisco João da Costa, better known by his pen-name GIP (1859-1900), was a major figure in Goan journalism of the nineteenth century. Costa was born into a powerful dynasty, with both Catholic and Brahmin roots, which had supported Portugal's Regeneration and also supported the extension of constitutional and democratic rights to Portuguese India. Costa studied law, but alongside his legal career developed a profile as a journalist and short-story writer. Costa's uncle Bernardo Francisco da Costa owned the weekly journal O Ultramar, associated with the Partido Ultramarino and Goa's Brahmin caste.