The Lilliputian Emperor vs. George I

This first book of Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift is full of political satire. Describing the Lilliputian Emperor, Swift is definitely playing with fire. There are some characteristics related to the Emperor of Lilliput which can be compared with the actual King of England at the time of the publication of the novel:

Gulliver  kneeling down in front 

of the Emperor of Lilliput

- The Lilliputian Emperor represents George I of England. Swift had no admiration for this king, and uses Lilliputian court practices allegorically to criticize the English monarch. 

- George was a Whig king who actively persecuted the Tories, hence the whole high heel/low heel thing described in the novel. The Emperor of Lilliput is described as a partisan of the Low-Heels, just as King George I employed only Whigs in his administration; the Emperor's heir is described as having "one of his heels higher than the other", which describes the encouragement by the Prince of Wales (the future George II) of the political opposition during his father's life.

- The Emperor's vulnerability to manipulation by his ministers, Flimnap (Robert Walpole) and Bolgolam, implies that George I was easily influenced by his favorites. 

- The Emperor of Lilliput also wants to enslave the people of Blefuscu, his neighbours. When Gulliver refuses to help him destroy Blefuscu, the Emperor starts to hate Gulliver. This may be a reference to George I's war with France and Austria over Spanish territories in the War of the Spanish Succession.

- The tiny emperor also represents tyranny, cruelty, lust for power, and corruption. This can be seen as a symbol of bad government at the time in England.