A number of merchants agreed to call themselves the East India Company, and to pay a tax to the king and parliament, if the king would protect them, and not allow any nation with which England was at war to hurt or destroy the towns in India where they had their trade, or their ships when they were carrying goods from place to place. There was a small company of this kind in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, but the new one in William’s time, was of more use to the country as well as to the merchants. We call the East India trade, not only the trade in things from India itself, such as pepper, cotton, muslin, diamonds, and other things that come from that country, but the trade in tea, and silk, and nankeen, and ivory, from China; and in spice of many kinds from the Spice Islands; and cinnamon, and gold, and precious stones, and many kinds of medicine from Ceylon. And all this trade came to be very great in King William’s reign. The reign of King William will always be thought of gratefully by good Englishmen; because then the best things were done for the government, the religion, the laws, and the trade of our dear England. CHAPTER LIV. QUEEN ANNE.—1702 to 1714. How Princess Anne became Queen because she was a Protestant; how the union of Scotland with England was brought about; how the Duke of Marlborough gained the battle of Blenheim; how Admiral Rooke took Gibraltar; how the Queen was governed by her ladies. The Princess Anne, who was the second daughter of King James the Second, and sister to King William’s wife Mary, became Queen of England when King William died, because she had been brought up a Protestant; while her little brother was taught to be a Roman Catholic; so that by law he could never be king of England. He is commonly called the Pretender, and he and his son often gave trouble in England, as you will read by and by. The first ten years of Queen Anne’s reign were very glorious; but the last part of her life was much troubled by the quarrels of some of the great men who wished to be her favourites, and to direct her affairs. We will begin her history, however, with the most useful thing that was done in her reign; and that is, the union of Scotland with England. You know that when Queen Elizabeth died, her cousin, James, king of Scotland, became king of England, so both countries had one king; but, as they had separate parliaments, and different ministers, and a different form of religion, they were always quarrelling, and many disputes, and even battles, took place, which were as bad as civil wars. These disputes were often on account of religion, because the king and his counsellors in England wanted to force the Scots to worship God in the same way, using the same words with the English. This was very unjust; so a great many Scotchmen joined together and made a COVENANT, or agreement, to preserve their own way of worship, even if they should be obliged to fight for it.