In 1573, 1,600 people were converted. Beginning in 1548, Jesuits in Bassein (Baçaim) and Bandra converted many upper-caste Hindus; Bassein Cathedral recorded 9,400 baptisms in 1588. The Jesuit superior Gonçalo Rodrigues baptized between 5,000 and 6,000 Hindus in Thane (Tana), many of whom were orphans or the young children of lower-caste Hindus who were sold by their parents. In 1634, Bassein had 63 friars, 30 Franciscans, 15 Jesuits, 10 Dominicans, and 8 Augustines. By the end of the 16th century the Catholic population of the Portuguese Province of the North was 10,000 to 15,000, centered mainly in and around Bassein.