The Role of Trust, Social Capital and Reputation in the Networks and Connections of British Industrialising Cotton-Spinning Mills, c. 1780-1840

This thesis examines early industrialising cotton-spinning mills in Britain, focusing on their business organisation and utilisation of trusted networks, social capital, and the role of network actors' reputations. The study, through a comparative analysis of two case study firms—W. Evans & Company of Darley Abbey near Derby and McConnel and Kennedy of Ancoats in Manchester — will explore the crucial role of trust and reputation in building and operating these mills and connecting them to broader networks. It explores the formation of trust within the family, kinship groups, and the wider community. It reflects on the role of class and religion in shaping the environments of the people who managed the mills while considering what happened within the networks if trust was broken and reputations were damaged. Then, the study reflects upon how trust and reputation were crucial in leveraging the resources required to operate a successful large-scale cotton spinning mill. The case studies in England's main cotton manufacturing hubs (Manchester and the Derwent Valley) were operated by two kinship groups and utilised different technologies. W. Evans & Company, established in 1782-3, employed water-powered technology, while McConnel & Kennedy, established in 1795, relied on Crompton’s Mule and steam power. The research timeframe spans 1780-1840, encompassing the rise of the factory system, the abolition of the slave trade in Britain’s empire, and ending with the Industrial Revolution's new phase in the 1830s and 1840s. This phase was marked by the advent of the railways, vast industrial expansion, increasing use of coal, and the abolition of slavery in 1833.