In terms of food, equipment, recruiting, duties, etc.

Edit: I'm dumb. Title should read: 'How did an average medieval city guard (both a single person and the larger division) work and function?'

I was in the Royal Ontario Museum this past Saturday and was viewing the late-medieval armors of the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman armies. I noticed that they all seemed to utilize the (from what I understand) more old-fashioned chain mail (as well as the "eggshell" spiked helmet, spear, scimitar, and small shield) rather than the plate mail that European knights were famed to use.

Why is this so? Did they not have the metallurgical knowledge to do so? Was it not suitable to their style of battle? I know the Ottomans fought with Europeans successfully and extensively; did they find an advantage in using such armors?

Thanks

Did the Roman Republic/Empire have a set career track for its soldiers to follow? How did they recruit, train, and assign new soldiers to the legions? And once you joined your legion, and assuming you survived long enough, how easy was it to rise through the ranks? How typical was it for a poor recruit with no political connections (at first) to become an officer? Were there any instances of Roman soldiers starting out as a rank and file recruit but later commanding a legion? How were promotions handled? Were there any rules as far as time in rate or written or oral exams the soldier had to pass?

I always thought it was weird that Shakespeare, who essentially made very well-done popular entertainment, ended up becoming the exemplar of "serious literature" in the popular consciousness. How and why did this transition from what Shakespeare's work was considered in his time to what it's considered now occur?

The other day I was looking through a collection of American WWII propaganda posters, and I was struck by the large proportion urging people to secrecy about shipping, troop movements, and the like.

To what degree was this fear justified? Was there any attack that could be traced back to somebody not keeping their mouth shut?

Was the language written in about the same way as it is today? Could someone living in the 15th century take a look at this sentence, for example:

Ciao, mi chiamo dal futuro

...and understand it? What kind of words, phrases, or abbreviations were used in writing back then? How could I convincingly recreate this style of writing myself, in a story, for example?

I know that during the Vietnam War American troops looked at the the ARVN troops as "southern Gooks" for the most part, thought they were untrustworthy, and viewed them with derision. Was it the same in Korea or were they viewed as more competent?

During the cold war, multiple aircraft of comparable roles (interceptors, bombers, etc.). I know in the us that there are posters saying that the US did it first and the Soviets copied. Perfect example would be the B52 and Tu 95.

My question is how many of these counterparts were there (both US and Soviet) and who made the first of each (sources help)

Just started war and peace and was interested to see that it is a piece of historical fiction. How do historians view it?

While I have you here, how about "Rome" the tv show? Or the manchukuo pieces of "wind up bird chronicle". Thank you all.

I remember hearing once that Napoleon Bonaparte considered reclaiming Canada (And most importantly the french colony of Quebec) from the British. Is this true in any way, shape or form?

I'm always hearing about how the British colonists "stole" the land from the Native Americans that were already living here. Are there any countries in operation today that are still being run by the indigenous peoples that founded it? By this, I mean the people who originally found an uninhabited piece of land, settled it, (possibly) formed a government, was never conquered by an outside nation (or managed to retake their land if it had been), and has never expanded their borders by means of invading another territory?

I am processing court case records from Clark County, Missouri. I found a case today from the 1870s which included a by then deceased William McCoy. It seems he was employed by two men from Virginia to purchase lands from "the South and Southwestern States" with fifteen thousand dollars they loaned him. The contract started in August 16th, 1836. He purchased land in Clark and Scotland counties in Missouri and Adams and Brown counties in Illinois. Also mentioned in the case are John and James Scott. When doing some research I found that a William McCoy (born 1773 ish) had a sister Elizabeth who had sons by the same name. The case implied that he died in Virginia and his late wife Sally took over his estate in Virginia. An attorney, Harry Lipcomb, was named the administrator of his estate in Missouri. Can anyone shed any light on who William was or if he may be related to the infamous Hatfield McCoy feud?

Apologies in advance to the mods, I am not sure if this question is appropriate for this board. I recently received my bachelor degree in history and I am looking into getting in a PHD program for American history. I am not sure how I can look into the different subjects each school offers. Any suggestions or website links will be greatly helpful. Also, I realized that some schools require research experience, unfortunately I did not get a chance to do any before graduating, do you have any suggestions on how I can obtain this?

What are the differences between these classifications of cruiser?

1. armored cruiser (eg. SMS Scharnhorst)

2. battlecruiser (eg. HMS Hood)

3. first-class cruiser (eg. HMS Orlando)

4. heavy cruiser (eg. HMS Frobisher)

5. light cruiser (eg. HMS Caroline)

6. protected cruiser (eg. USS Olympia)

7. scout cruiser (eg. HMS Boadicea)

What significant classifications are not listed above and how are they different?