How many people are reported to have died rather than break their eggs at the smaller end?

In "Gulliver's Travels," Jonathan Swift satirizes the absurdity of conflicts over trivial matters through the fictional war between the Big-Endians and Little-Endians, which stems from their differing practices of opening eggs. The segment you refer to highlights the ridiculous consequences of such a disagreement, suggesting that a significant number of people—11,000—died rather than conform to the opposing faction's methodology of egg consumption. This absurd statistic underscores the theme of how petty disputes can escalate to severe consequences.

The figure of 11,000 serves to emphasize the exaggerated nature of human conflicts and the lengths to which people will go to uphold their beliefs or customs, even at the cost of their lives. This aspect of the narrative critiques real-world conflicts and traditions that may seem equally trivial when viewed from a different perspective.