Final answer:
a) merchant middlemen
Merchant middlemen take title to goods and assume trading risks by purchasing products from manufacturers and selling them to retailers or consumers.
Muslim traders historically used letters of credit to facilitate trade without carrying gold.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group that takes title to manufacturers' goods and assumes the trading risks are merchant middlemen. These individuals or companies purchase goods directly from the manufacturer and then take on the responsibility of selling those products to retailers or directly to consumers.
Merchant middlemen bear the financial risks associated with purchasing and holding inventory, as well as the risks related to the market demand for the products they sell.
In the historical context of Muslim traders, to avoid the risk and difficulty of carrying large amounts of gold over great distances, these traders often relied on letters of credit.
This early form of financial instrument allowed them to trade without the need for physical money in-hand, thus reducing the risk of theft and loss during long journeys.