Yay! an essay question
This is really a great topic Mark, and I know we've touched on it many times through the years, but it remains as elusive as ever as far as tangible proof, whether swords such as the baskethilt and the cuphilt actually were used at sea.
I remember quite a few years back trying to find proof on the use of the Scottish baskethilt at sea, and no definitive results forthcoming even after contacting the National Maritime Museum and other authorities with the suggestion firmly in place, but virtually unprovable forensically.
I think with that, as you recall, the closest to proof was the account of the death of Blackbeard in which the fatal blow was struck by a Highlander among Maynards men 'using his broadsword'. We know that Maynards forces were assembled from men from the Carolinas joining his naval force, and that Highlanders with broadswords were well represented in those regions in those times from those immigrating from Scotland. However, this is perhaps the closest actual account of a Highland broadsword (baskethilt) used aboard a ship. Considering the size of these vessels I suppose this would suggest that in theory, these full sized weapons would be at least in degree feasible in actual combative situations. The fact that Scottish baskethilts were typically already japanned (painted black) or russeted to prevent rust in the damp Highlands may have also added to the favor of these type weapons for maritime use.
Annis ("Naval Swords:, p.10) also notes "...the Scottish broadsword was far from being unknown at sea". Again, this assertion is physically unsubstantiated.
Getting to the actual use of swords aboard ships, it is known of course that there were no real regulations or standards as to what edged weapons may have been used on vessels, and obviously whatever modicum of regulation might exist on naval vessels would have no bearing on merchant ships. On pirate or privateers this would be emphatically the case.
Gilkerson does note (p.108) that in the Spanish navy the long bladed rapier of the soldier was the commonest shipboard fighting blade throughout the 18th into the 19th c. This as we know is broadly assumed, and as both cuphilts with 'arming' blades and bilbos were used primarly by infantry and dismounted troops in colonial New Spain, it would be difficult to prove as there are no distinctive naval markings known (the fouled anchor only began in England about pre American Revolution). As far as I know there are no paintings or illustrations reflecting sea going weaponry from Spain from these times. We do know that while infantry and some cavalry weapons were chosen randomly, but by late in the 18th century the smallsword had become regulation for Spanish naval officers in accord with French, British and American practice of the times (Annis p.10, "Naval Swords").
As far as examples being found on shipwrecks, which would of course be ideal, I am unaware of any examples found aboard Spanish wrecks of cuphilts. As for the baskethilt, there is an example which was found on the wreck of the English "Sea Venture" off the Bahamas, which was I believe late 16th century and referenced in several articles. This was of course an early English type baskethilt, but again goes to use of the form on board. This of course may have been other than crew and simply belonging to someone aboard being transported. As Annis suggests (op.cit. p.10) many of the swords worn by officers and officials aboard ships may have been more for fashion or wear on ceremonial occasion than actual combat weapons.
In the case of most Spanish wrecks, obviously the attention is primarily toward the valuable cargo, but as far as I know no cuphilts have ever been found. There was a galleon found off Manila which surprisingly had aboard a good number of Japanese swords, but these seem to have been part of a cargo rather than in use on board by Samurai who did apparantly ally with the Spanish in some circumstances back in those early times (I forget the details). I know of a group of rapier blades found on a Spanish wreck off Panama and again these were cargo apparantly bound for the colonies for refurbishing the rapiers traditionally still in service there.
It will be good to continue the search just the same, and frankly any evidence of cuphilts or for that matter other items is usually foreshadowed by the attention to valuables where Spanish ships are involved.
Well thats my entry, I hope others will join too !!!
Great topic!!!!!
All the best,
Jim