What was the position of the manufacturer within the web of credit outlined in the preceding chapters? In order to understand the relevance and importance of trade credit to capital accumulation and to the course and extent of change in the industry, it is necessary to analyse the implications of both short-term cyclical movements and long-term trends in credit practice over time.

The long-term movement of credit: the supply side

In Chapter 5 credit practice in the supply of raw wool was analysed and related to change in the organisation of trade in this commodity and to the changing sources of its supply. Several major points concerning the chronology of trends in wool trade credit in the period 1750–1850 were particularly emphasised.

First, growers of wool gave little credit to their purchasers. Most wool was sold for cash or short dated bills. Where trading relationships were long established, a maximum of three to four months' credit would be allowed but even this saw a marked decline in favour of strict cash terms from the mid-1820s.

Secondly it was noted that the tendency from the late eighteenth century to the 1820s was for most manufacturers to join the smaller concerns in relying more and more heavily on the staplers and dealers for their wool. In this way, although prices were often somewhat higher, specific types of wool, including imported wool, could be bought and an important measure of credit gained.