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Why does Lemuel Gulliver lose favor with the emperor of Lilliput?

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Illustration of Lemuel Gulliver lying on the ground, tied down by tiny Lilliputians, with crowds and small buildings in the background, from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. — Gulliver’s Travels Lemuel Gulliver in Lilliput, illustration from an edition of Jonathan Swift's *Gulliver's Travels*.

In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Lemuel Gulliver falls out of favor with the emperor of Lilliput primarily due to his refusal to assist the emperor in fully conquering the neighboring empire of Blefuscu after having already neutralized their naval threat.1

Additionally, his standing is further damaged by his actions at the royal palace, where he extinguishes a fire by urinating on it. These events, combined with the petty and volatile nature of the Lilliputian court, lead the emperor to sentence Gulliver to be blinded and starved, forcing him to flee to Blefuscu.1