In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the
alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank.
Eighty merchants of London came together in the year 1600 (1)______ the East India Company. They wanted to enter (2)______ business with Indian traders in the fields of textile and spices. They (3)______ inspired by the Portuguese and the Dutch who were (4)______ a flourishing trade in spices and earning huge (5)______.