[10] Why this testament was made in September 1571, many years before his actual death about December 1589[12] is a matter of speculation, but one plausible explanation is the unrest and fighting in Auvillar in 1571-72, where he had been Captain of the Château d'Auvillar, perhaps also the Governor of the Château d'Auvillar,[10] appointed by letters patent[citation needed] from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen regnant of Navarre.
[15] On 30 September 1569, the Queen Regnant Jeanne published new laws about religion with two main principles: the first being to suspend all officers who were not Huguenot and prohibit the Lieutenant General from enlisting Catholics, and the second being to seize the property and assets, ecclesiastical or layperson, of those who disobeyed her and to sell them on public auction.
They shed some light on the life and career of Jean Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte, with specific dates and facts.
An extract from one register, translated into English, reads: …On 4 September 1586, the Sieur de La Forcade, counsellor on His Majesty's Conseil Ordinaire, was provided with the position of Président aux Comptes, vacant by the death of Mr. Tisnés, with the aforesaid letters patent signed by Lady Catherine [the King's only sister] as well as by the Sieur de Saint-Geniès,[37] Lieutenant General of the armies of His Majesty.
The ratification of these letters patent was opposed by the Procureur Patrimonial, on various pretexts he invented from the start, such as that the oath which should have been taken by the Chambre had been taken by His Majesty, and as such, the address was made to the most senior member instead of being made to the entire body, and, finally, that the required number of officers were not present.. All these excuses exhausted, he finally resorted to the real reasons and represented them as so important, that the Chambre, notwithstanding the fr:Lettre de jussion ("letters patent") obtained by the said Forcade, and without referring to it, he would have to remonstrate with His Majesty to defend against his installation in this office.
Furthermore, he remonstrated the said Chambre that the obligation to have a president who was a graduate was even greater due to the fact that not a single auditor had knowledge of grammar.
Lastly, he remonstrated the said Chambre, the importance and excellence of these jobs necessarily required that one function of these offices was that of being scholars of judicial orders.
[38]Notable genealogists Gabriel O'Gilvy and Chaix d'Est-Ange both alleged, without citing sources, that he is the son of Noble Gaston de Forcade.
Records available in the 21st century imply, without confirming, that he was instead the son of Maréchal Arnaudt de Forcade, who originally received the noble fief of La Fitte as a donation from Jeanne d'Albret in 1571.
A pension in the amount of 100 écus in gold[45] was established by the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in favor of the widow of the sieur de La Forcade, Demoiselle Loyse d'Aboval,[45] for the services rendered by her husband[45] on 27 August 1591.