Why didn't France adopt the longbow like England did?
tl;dr:The abstract does a wonderful job.  It is will worth reading.Longbow was cheap and technically superior, but required training.  Crossbow more expensive, required less training.  Rulers of England less worried about rebellion, OK to invest in training.  Rulers of France/Scotland not so happy because of fear to give potential of overthrow to the people (Scotland not in title, but in article along with France).Perhaps an analogy could be painted with companies today.  Those that churn, and those that nurture skills.