Jurgis Leikauskas
Jurgis Leikauskas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of New Ruttland & Cutinsua | |
| In office Month X, 1530 – July 16, 1538 | |
| Monarch | Kestutis III Algirdas |
| Preceded by | Position created Himself (as Governor of New Ruttland) |
| Succeeded by | Triumvirate (de facto) Mykolas Basanavičius Pilypas Murauskas Juozapas Petravičius Mykolas Basanavičius (de jure) |
| Governor of New Ruttland | |
| In office April 11, 1525 – Month X, 1530 | |
| Monarch | Kestutis III Algirdas |
| Preceded by | Position created Javarjupankis (as Hanan Qhapaq) |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished Himself (as Governor of New Ruttland & Cutinsua) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 23, 1482 Šaukėnai, Kingdom of Ruttland |
| Died | July 16, 1538 (aged 56) Apvaizda, New Ruttland & Cutinsua |
| Spouse(s) | Sofija Astikienė (m. 1500; her death, 1520) Onamarija Kusiqujluras (m. 1530; his death, 1538) |
| Children | Zuzanna [marriedname] Kotryna [marriedname] Nikolajus Leikauskas Juozapas Leikauskas Petras Leikauskas Agnė [marriedname] Dominykas Leikauskas |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Ruttland (1500-1538) |
| Battles/wars | Ruttish conquest of Cutinsua |
Jurgis Leikauskas (April 23, 1482 – July 16, 1538) was a Ruttish soldier and užkariautojas best known as the leader of the expedition that founded Ruttish Aucuria and destroyed the League of Five Cities, bringing much of modern-day Aucuria under Ruttish control.
Born into the lesser nobility in the village of Šaukėnai, Leikauskas entered the service of the Ruttish crown as a soldier at age 18, steadily advancing in rank and eventually coming to the attention of the upper aristocracy. In 1523, King Kestutis III Algirdas authorized Leikauskas to organize and command an expedition to the Asterias, promising him the governorship of any colony he could successfully establish. This expedition sailed from Ruttland in January 1525 and arrived at the mouth of the Pautė River in April of the same year; upon their arrival, Leikauskas ordered the construction of a fortified settlement, which was named Apvaizda, and proclaimed the foundation of the Colony of New Ruttland.
In 1528, Leikauskas met with Cutinsuan envoys who invited him to the Cutinsuan capital of Andavaila. While in Andavaila, Leikauskas also met envoys from Čačapojas, Suljanas, and Akarajas, learning that these cities resented Andavailan dominance within Cutinsua. Leikauskas agreed to aid them in a rebellion against Andavaila, and he and the 350 užkariautojai accompanying him subsequently defeated and sacked Andavaila. After relations broke down between the užkariautojai and their native allies, he oversaw the destruction of his former allies and the wholesale annexation of Cutinsua by 1530.
Leikauskas ruled as Governor of New Ruttland & Cutinsua for the next eight years, overseeing the colony's rapid growth and ordering military expeditions against smaller, still-unsubdued tribes; he returned to Ruttland only once. He was assassinated by Danielis Lipjapomas in 1538.
Leikauskas's legacy is substantial and controversial. He has traditionally been venerated as a heroic explorer, brilliant tactician, and competent administrator within Aucuria, and is regularly counted among the country's founding figures; Aucuria's presidential palace, Apvaizda's international airport, and the state of Leikauskas, among others, are all named in his honor. However, others - particularly those of indigenous descent - have denounced him as a haughty, greedy, and ruthless conqueror who acted duplicitously and committed atrocities against indigenous populations and cultures.