Jim,
An excellent and most informative post!
I would like to add that by the 18th century the rapier was generally considered obsolete, though its use lingered on in Spain, probably more so in the countryside than near the royal court. Here we must keep in mind that the Burbons, a French royal family, with their ascendancy to the throne after the Spanish war of succession at the beginning of that century, imposed French customs on the upper nobility, which in this context meant the adoption of the small sword.
Cheers
Chris
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