Here, Swift satirizes the War of the Spanish Succession: The Whigs had conducted a war against the Roman Catholic leaders of France and Spain. Although it had its religious over-tones, the war also involved trading rights with the colonies in America. The Tories, led by Harley and Bolingbroke, were willing to make a reasonable peace with France, and when they came to power, they immediately began to negotiate with the French. The result was the peace treaty signed at Utrecht in 1713. Their naval policy, they said, destroyed the Spanish fleet. The Whigs were unsatisfied. They maintained that it was Marlborough's infantry campaigns on the continent that had brought peace. Moreover, after the peace treaty was signed, the Whigs accused the Tories of treason because of a failure to get colonies and ports from France and Spain.
The fire-fighting episode may (or may not) refer to Swift's Tale of a Tub, which he wrote to defend the Church of England against its Puritan and Roman Catholic enemies. The book is satirical, often coarse, and Queen Anne was reportedly offended by Swift's coarseness. Because of this, she resisted his friends' suggestions that he be made a dean or bishop in England.
