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The tin and all that.

The more I read, the more it seems the Qing society was actually quite developed financially and culturally.
They seemed well integrated at local levels with world trade, at least on the coast.
It should have been able to adapt and innovate, as it seems they had all the tools.

So, why didn't it? It's kinda baffling. Was it just because the state didn't try to raise more money?

To be clear, not talking about the actual fall in 1911, but more why it slipped through the XIXth century.

Bonus points if you can explain how the Vietnamese army got beaten so easily by the French.
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