The town was thereafter a town of the Kingdom of Navarre, and the seat of the sheriff of the Lower Navarre district ("merindad" of "Ultrapuertos" or "Deça-Ports"). It remained as such up to the period of the Spanish conquest (1512-1528) when King Henry II of Navarre decided to transfer the seat of the royal institutions to Saint Palais (Donapaleu) on safety grounds.