The factory system relied on international trade. A Burnley mill manager recalled:

'...Lancashire wove the home trade before breakfast. They had an hour's start in the early morning before they had a break, and then they wove for the world for the rest of the day.'

Raw cotton came from the USA and, later on, India, Egypt and Brazil as well. The finished products were sold to the Far East, America and Europe.

Who challenged Britain's dominant factory system?