3/5 🧵 Second, the wars and the unequal treaties that followed disrupted ordinary economic life. The opening of treaty ports shifted trade toward foreign-controlled coastal zones, especially around port cities, while many inland communities saw little benefit. Chinese silver continued to leave the country, and local economies faced pressure from foreign competition and changing trade rules. The NBER paper notes that the legal foreign presence affected the development of some areas, but that growth was concentrated near treaty ports, not evenly spread across China. In plain terms: a few places got tied into global trade, while much of the population saw disruption without broad prosperity.