Jean de Forcade de Biaix

Life in France

Little is known about his early life. His parents were protestant. Protestant church records do not exist for the period between 1617-1667 for the Temple in Pau. Historical records published in the 19th century related to the research of noble families in France claim that only two branches of this family descended from the parents, and that the only surviving branch was the Prussian one.

Protestant baptismal records for the Temple in Pau for the period 1668-1681 and 1673-1684, however, point to a large family with no fewer than 11 children, of which six sons to carry the name forward. What happened to the rest of the family is unknown.

Emigration to Prussia

Jean de Forcade de Biaix, unlike his father and eldest brother, did not abjure from Protestantism. Like many Huguenots, he left Bearn in religious exile after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau in October 1685 and went to Brandenburg, where Frederick I of Prussia, the Elector of Brandenburg, was actively encouraging Huguenot immigration.

Frederick I of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg and future King of Prussia, saw an immediate interest in what Huguenot Refugees could represent for his country. Indeed, he was both a francophile and an admirer of the French. In October 1685, he published the Edict of Potsdam granting the Huguenots everything the Edict of Fontainebleau refused them: safe passage to Brandenburg, freedom to live and work where they chose, religious freedom and the right to worship in their native French, tax exemptions for 10 years, and more, going as far as granting them the same rights as citizens of the states of Brandenburg-Prussia. Meanwhile, his envoy to King Louis XIV of France's court at Versailles, the Count of Schwerin, dispensed subsidies and passports to all who requested them, provided, of course, that those requesting appeared to be of some benefit to his sovereign. As a result, the Kingdom of Prussia became for many Huguenots, in particular for the noblesse militaire, the ideal place of refuge, for Jean de Forcade de Biaix.

Whereas there were only about 400 Huguenots in the Kingdom of Prussia in 1685, two years later, 20,000 French had established themselves. ·Berlin and Frankfurt on the Oder, the Kingdom of Prussia's two major cities, who each had 7,000 inhabitants in 1685, almost doubled in size within five years as a result of the French contribution and thanks to Frederick I of Prussia's generous offer of land and houses to the religious exiles.

Huguenot Noblemen and officers flocked to the military, where letters patent granted them the same rank they previously held in France, with the youngest among them granted entry ranks as Ensigns or Lieutenants, while in parallel new roles were created for notaries public, members of the bar and members of parliament, and lastly, businessmen and tradesmen were offered significant opportunities to start new industrial activities.

Life in Prussia

By October 1686, Jean de Forcade de Biaix began a career that would span 41 years.

He remained in the rank of Captain for nearly fifteen years, humbly performing his occupation as a soldier.

But two events enabled him to rise out of subordinate functions. In 1697, he married the Baroness Juliane von Honstedt from an old Wurttembergian family, who also had the advantage of being the daughter of a Major General in the service of Prussia. At the same time, the Electors of Brandenburg become the Kings of Prussia in 1701, and Frederick William I of Prussia, the future King of Prussia, befriended him. Jean de Forcade de Biaix pleased him and his career began to show it.

Frederick William I of Prussia, known as the "Soldier King", who would later become the organizer of the Prussian Army, particularly appreciated three things: tobacco (Potsdam's Tabagies became famous); soldiers, especially if they were very tall; and lastly, thrift (he was known for a selfish greed). Concerning this latter, he especially appreciated French Huguenots, and is said to have admiringly exclaimed: "These are the only French who are satisfied with a single frog per day!".

In this latter position, he reigned over his garrison with discipline and gained a reputation as one of the most severe military governors of Berlin. He is thought to be the founder of the famous "Prussian Drill" that would become the admiration of numerous generations of military to follow. Each night during the fifteen years of his governorship, he would send a letter to King Frederick William I of Prussia in which he recounted in detail the events of the day, allegedly without ever forgetting a single one.

Jean de Forcade de Biaix was an avid and active member of the Tabakskollegium, ("Tobacco Collegium") the aeropagus before which, at the Berlin court, the affairs of domestic and foreign policy were discussed. Smoking was mandatory. The Tabakstube (smoking lounge) was set up based on the Dutch model, like a Great Hall. Every evening at six o'clock the Tobacco Collegium came together and remained until ten o'clock or longer. Other members included: Friedrich Wilhelm von Grumbkow, Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, affectionately referred to as "the old Dessauer", Count Donhoff, Colonel von Derschau, the Generals von Gerstorf and von Sydow, General Peter von Blankensee, affectionately called "Blitzpeter" at court, Caspar Otto von Glasenapp, Christoph Adam von Flanz, Dubislav Gneomar von Natzmer, Heinrich Karl von der Marwitz, Friedrich Wilhelm von Rochow, Wilhelm Dietrich von Buddenbrock, Arnold Christoph von Waldow, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Haake and the occasional invited Minister and Ambassador, on a case-by-case basis.

Coat of Arms

The family motto of the Prussian branch is "In Virtute Pertinax".

Coat of Arms: An escutcheon with the field divided into four parts. Left half: argent tincture, a gules lion holding a sinople eradicated oak tree between its paws; azure tincture charged with three or mullets; Right half: a gules castle with three towers on an argent tincture; sinople tincture charged with three argent roses below it. A Grafenkrone (Count's coronet) as helmut on top of the escutcheon, crested with a or fleur-de-lis. Two or lions supporting the escutcheon. Motto: "In Virtute Pertinax".

Heraldic Symbolism: The lion symbolizes courage; the eradicated oak tree symbolizes strength and endurance; the towers are symbols of defense and of individual fortitude; the mullets (5-star) symbolizes divine quality bestowed by god; the rose is a symbol of hope and joy; the fleur-de-lis is the floral emblem of France; the coronet is a symbol of victory, sovereignty and empire. A Count's coronet to demonstrate rank and because the family originally served the counts of Foix and Bearn during the English Wars in the Middle Ages.

Parents

Jean de Forcade de Biaix's parents are erroneously cited in various Prussian historical sources between 1767-1861 as the French Field Marshall Jaques de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix and Philippine d'Espalungue, Baronne d'Arros. Whether this information was intentionally provided false, or unintentionally in error, is a matter of pure speculation. These same sources state that the family origins were in Spain before Bearn, most likely referring to what had been the Kingdom of Navarre, which was split between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain, with the part south of the Pyrenees becoming a part of Spain in 1521, and the part north of the Pyrenees becoming the Kingdom of Navarre-Bearn, before becoming a part of France in 1589, when King Henry III of Navarre inherited the French throne as Henry IV of France. In 1620 it was merged into the France.

Indeed, his parents were Protestant noble Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix (ca. 1624; † 1684 in Pau), fermier des monnaies de Bearn et Navarre (minter of coins for Bearn and Navarre), who was married 23 December 1659 at the Protestant Temple in Morlaas with Madeleine de Lanne († aft. 1688), daughter of Ramon de Lanne, Bourgeois in Pau.

Marriage

Jean de Forcade de Biaix married the Baroness Juliane von Honstedt, from the noble house of Erdeborn, on 15 April 1697. She was the daughter of Major General Quirin, Erbherr (Allod) von Honstedt (see also Hohnstedt), Herr of Sulzau, Weikenburg and Erdeborn, and his wife Maria Magdalena Streiff von Lowenstein, of Falkenau, Diedenhosten and Bacour.

Children

Two sons were born out of this marriage, of which the elder, Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix, King Frederick I of Prussia's Godson, covered the name de Forcade de Biaix with glory.

Other Family

Titles and Offices

Historical terms, in particular those related to offices, titles and awards, are often outdated in their usage to the point that modern dictionaries no longer contain them. To understand their meaning in the present day context it is necessary to look into dictionaries from the period. Historical terms in German used in the production of this article, and their English definitions, include:

Regimentschef

The appointment to Regimentschef, a Regimental Commander in the Prussian Army, was usually for life. For this reason, most regiments were known and referred to by the name of their Chef, the commander; for example, "Forcade's Regiment", instead of the "23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment".

Biaix - The Family Estate

The noble fief of Biaix in the city of Pau and another house located on the outskirts of the city, were simultaneously ennobled on 20 September 1521, by letters of Henry II, King of Navarre, for Pierre de Biaix, at the time Chancellor of Foix and Bearn.

Noble Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Rontignon, purchased the noble fief of Biaix in Pau, together with another house in the suburbs of Pau referred to as Biaix du faubourg, on 28 February 1659 from Gratian von Turon, Seigneur de Beyrie, for 6,000 Bordeaux livres and was admitted on 10 June 1659 to the Order of Nobility of the States of Bearn as Seigneur de Biaix.

Under intimidation from the policy of harassment of religious minorities through the use of dragonnades, created in 1681, to intimidate Huguenots into converting to Catholicism or to leave France, and under the threat of confiscation of properties of nobles who did not convert, both Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix and the eldest son abjured from Protestantism, therewith maintaining possession of Biaix. Following the father's death in 1684, the property and the right to enter the Order of Nobility of the States of Bearn were passed to Isaac de Forcade de Biaix (Seigneur de Biaix 1684-1737).

In turn, following his death in 1737, the property and the right to enter the Order of Nobility of the States of Bearn were passed to his eldest son, Jean-Jacob de Forcade de Biaix, (Seigneur de Biaix 1738-????), before the Forcade-Biaix line in France is said to have extinguished.

After various viscitudes of fortune, the second smaller house on the outskirts of Pau, referred to as Biaix du faubourg, was acquired from family de Casaus on 10 May 1710 by Noe Dufau, merchant furbisher, who was received in the Order of Nobility of the States of Bearn on 28 April 1717 as Seigneur de Biaix du faubourg. Noe Dufau died in 1739 and bequeathed it back to his niece and Goddaughter, Jean-Jacob de Forcade de Biaix's daughter, Marie-Jeanne de Forcade, Dame de Biaix, who later married Pierre de Casamajor.

Because Biaix was acquired in 1659, any reference to earlier members of the family line with "de Biaix" as a part of the name are in error.