Cows: 1, Spanish Army: 0

Sometimes, facts are just the soil that we grow our fantasies in.
This Azorean season is about the mythology that drives our world, and as such today's episode is only as true as we choose it to be.
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This video was made possible thanks to our incredible Patreon subscribers: &pointer, Aaron Jennings, adam lenk, AJ, Akasha Yi, Alan Camolinga, Alex boneck, Alex Papageorgiou, Alex Ross, Alex The Magical Cat, Alexander Lee, Alexander Reilly, Alf Einar Solberg, Alice LWatson, Allmightydregs, Almighty Bidoof, Amal Isaac, Ammobunny, Andrew, Andrew Beals, Andrew Larson, Anina Shaorandra, Anthony Ascencio, Anthony Roberts, Aqeel Fassuhudeen, Arsalan N, Atsushi, Audrey Brown, Austin Cousineau, bajr, BattleGoat Studios, Ben Hewitson, Ben West, Benkei Paczek, Blacksun, BlobyTwo, Bob Dai, Bradley Brown, Brenna and Peter, Brian ONeel, Calvin McAnarney, Carl Bodnaruk, Catherine Berry, Chien Lu Anderman, Chris Ferguson, Christopher Perrin-Porzondek, Christopher Simpkins, Cody Belichesky, Cody Schneider, Cole Skelton, Colin Miskowitz, CollapsingHrungDisaster, Colton Creasey, Cullen McFater, Curtis Shimamoto, Dan Nottingham, Daniel Sierra Matus, Daniel Tyler, David Badilotti, David James McConnell, Douglas Danger Manley, duckin, Dustin Sysko, Dykam, Edward Sykes, Einar Holmedal, Elsilan, Emma, Eric Floehr, Evan, f1r3w4rr10r, fabledire, fadingnebula, fatsaxman, feo, Gabe S, Ggamefreak22, Gilberto Hart, Giulian Fava, Gnels Knels Pnels, Graeme, Gregory Kintz, Hollis Davis, Igor Stavchanskiy, J Neko, Jahi Lyncee, Jake Bryant, Jake Capoun, Jakob Mynster Blüdnikow, Jakob Ruder, Jan Langguth, Jan Vilhuber, jannes Dirks, Jason, Jean, Jeffery Konowal, Jeremy Impson, Jeremy Wheelis, Jesse Smith, Jessica Mayberry, Jesus Christ, joanne kokol, Joe Brown, John Cline, John Goff, Jonathan Gerry, Jonathan Lonowski, Jonathan O'Sullivan, Joseph King, Josh Hoppes, Joshua Clarke, Juan Coronado, Julia, Julian Fiander, Julian Fong, Justin Thomson, JustRus, Kameron Stroud, Karol Pilat, Kenny Coulter, Kush Patel, Kyle Hofer, L W, Lane & Kate Seppala, larry82, Lars Hjort Christensen, Lars Sturm, Lexi, Liam Gilles, Lilith Berkana De' Anu, Lillian Mark, Lorentz, Louis Lenders, Lukas Jackowski, luketd, Mad Sumac, Marc Anderson, Martin Green, Matt, Matthew Barrett, Matthew Roche, Max Poley, Melanie Sumner, Michael, Michael Abernathy, Michael Amesse, Michael S, Miguel Martínez Chapa, Mike Frysinger, Mondoria, Mrburgerdon, Ms Tek, Muncorn, MysticCobra, Nancy Reid, Nicholas Kraabel, NiordSir, NM, Noah Hawkes, Nuno Balbona Perez, Oliver Frommeier, Oliver 'Kannik' Bollmann, Ollie b, Omar A., Pablo D Lopez, Pablo Rodriguez, Patrick Holdsworth, Paul Estella, Paul Hui, Peter Bjorvand, Peter Gravelle, Petr Doležal, Pjotr Bekkering, Pranav Maddula, Ricardo Machado, Rich Saber, Robert Velten, Rocky Yip, Roger L. Basler de Roca, Roger Wu, Ron Warris, Ronen Finegold, Ryan Breaker, Sabolc Jut, Sam Collins, Samuel Reed, Saul, Scott Pressman, Scotty From Marketing, Scrungii, Sean Dennis, Sean McCool, Sergi Rincon, Shawn Wang Williams, Shikyo_The_Dragon, Shivan, SilliusSodus, Simen Thoresen, Simon Bohnen, smaz ruby, Space_Chickun, Sriram Govindarajan, Stephen Bourne, Steve Williamson, Svein Ove Aas, Tedd, Theo Davis, Thomas Paris, Thornton, Tim Barrett, Tim Dahl, Traxys, Ubikwitus, Ursus Canis, Varun Perumal, Vasserot, Viktor Lundell, Vitali Perchonok, wandering3ngineer, Wes Mills, Whitefang, Will Mullins, Wu Jim, Xellos, Zach Preston, Zaratan, Zoltán Ulrich, and ZZ. We love you guys!
Thanks for watching! You're clearly one of the good ones.

[@RareEarthSeries]

Everyone who watches this show does so thanks to our patrons. Without them, there is no show. Thank you, patrons. Sincerely. www.patreon.com/rareearth

[@DasIllu]

Is that gas burner noise in the background? Are you flexing on us europeans? ;-D

[@Obscurai]

“Perception is reality, and the truth is not.” -Imelda Marcos

[@RareEarthSeries]

@@DasIllu the bugs? It's bugs.

[@amazoniancustodian]

@@RareEarthSeries always bugs…

[@1bytesnack369]

Doesn't bug me.

[@CineSoar]

I've been rushed by a cow. They may look 'cute' but they can weigh half as much as a small car, and their bones are as substantial as baseball bats.

[@kittytrail]

cows kill way more people in any given year than sharks in a decade... 😏

[@chrissmith3587]

Same they are truly terrifying to be charged by, it was several years ago now and I will still go significantly out of my way to avoid cows. Respect all animals and their boundaries, herbivores may not try to eat you but they evolved to defend themselves from predators

[@Darkhelboy]

@@chrissmith3587 lol, same here. pretty innocent looking but they sure can turn ugly in the blink of an eye

[@petersteele7603]

Had cow (not a steer) in the loading chute get antsy & spooked. The cow kicked the railroad tie fencepost and split it clean I two. If the fence wasn't holding it together it would have fell. Moral of story, if you think a horse or mule or donkey can kick hard, they ain't got nothing on a cow, or worse, a pissed off steer.

[@getlikecash8861]

I have cows you just need to be calm

[@GuntherRommel]

"There's no drug like nostalgia. Take a bump.." Yeah, Evan. That's a great line.

[@crazywileycoyote]

A great… line

[@teknicalmage6370]

Lmao

[@rosetownstumpcity]

i love great lines

[@JoycenatorGaming]

Definitely a new favorite from this series, it’s a good one

[@joeobrien196]

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

[@lucasparis7284]

Where i live we have a very similar story, when Napoleon invaded Spain, a young man from a local village lead the small local army against Napoleon's army who were known for being invincible. But his drums echoed through the nearby mountain making the French think that a bigger army was coming before being ambushed

[@kadoen]

El timbaler del bruc! Great legend, it's no wonder the mountain of Montserrat inspires myths, it's a spectacular place...

[@Mrnevertalks]

This doesn't feel phoned in, sometimes you get very meta with us about how you view the nature of storytelling and your role in it and I find it fascinating.

[@RareEarthSeries]

Definitely not my best but I appreciate the nice comment thanks

[@izzy0052]

Fun fact: The motto of the Azorean regional Government comes from this time period. Allegedly, the Spanish Government wrote to a Portuguese Government official in Terceira that he was to surrender and hand over control of the archipelago to a Spanish official that would be coming soon. His reply was a letter that, among several other things, contained "Antes morrer Livres que em Paz Sujeitos", which means "It is better to die Free than in Peace Subjected." After the Azores got their Autonomy post 25th of April, the Azorean Regional Government adopted it officially as a motto for the Region.

[@6Planet]

The writing in this episode is really good. "An unstoppable wave of doom, armed to the teeth and ready to crash onto shore. From their fortress on the sea a thousand soldiers poured out onto the rocks. Cannons, gunpowder, men - a seemingly unstoppable invasion spilling like knives onto the verdant farmland of the Azores." Props to whoever wrote that.

[@seandees3028]

I love how you remind us that those of ancient lore were people, just like us. Your humanization of historical figures brings them into the personal realm and helps dispel the myth of that larger than life mindset which so often surrounds our legends. That only others, only the uniquely special can accomplish something. All our heroes were people first, just like us. We to can do the extraordinary, just like them. Thank you for that.

[@SnoConeWars]

Absolutely mesmerized by the crops growing between large hedges. Don't know why, it just looks really cool.

[@meisteremm]

It goes against what I am used to (corn and soy.) Every autumn I can smell the farmers burning off the corn stalks to make way for new crops; they obviously could not do that with hedges surrounding crops. This is interesting to see.

[@rogeriomonteiro760]

@@meisteremm It is simple to understand, they are protecting the crops from the strong salty seawind. In the island of Pico they do the same, but in this case is to protect the vineyards, and the hedges are made of basalt.

[@meisteremm]

@@rogeriomonteiro760 That makes sense, then.

[@iissacc]

@@meisteremm there's actually a bit more to it, they're called bocages and are typical of most of Europe, even still visible today. Most farms were smallholders so dividing up pastureland and crop using trees and hedges was an effective tool. It also provides nesting for birds and pollinators. But they have decreased in popularity due to mass mechanisation and intensive agriculture practices

[@melissaolson3984]

InI states of New Mexico and Arizona, USA they have streets named Juan Tabo, but no one knows who that is. No one in both states can find out who this person was. Some theories, he was a merchant, a sheep herder, or a monk. It is a mystery, but those streets are stilled named Juan Tabo.

[@ottodidakt3069]

I just love details like that, they haven't even bothered to invent something to fill the void ? ... make sit a much better story !!

[@VoIcanoman]

This one thematically reminded me a lot of "The Last Survivor of San Miguel"...it doesn't matter what actually happened, as long as the people are getting what they paid for. The cow story is more than 400 years old, the volcano one less than 5 years old, but they are both mythologizing a real event to make it meaningful for members of a specific culture (and only them).

[@naapalm82]

If I may say so, you are great at filming cows.

[@LadyAnuB]

"This episode was produced due to viciousness of cattle" 😂

[@kittytrail]

never mess with them cows if you want to live. 😋

[@eliad6543]

I love your writing. This and the Guatemala video feel like walking back a million careless steps, only to stop, turn around and take one measured step. Lucidity without answers is a place worth staying at for a long time, if you want your answers to have the slightest chance of doing good.

[@daanwilmer]

I love how these stories you tell are so very human. Often, the hero stories are almost superhuman, but you find the story behind the story and it is so relatably human you can feel it in your bones.

[@rogeriomonteiro760]

The result of the Salga Bay battle was a defeat to the spanish. It would take still two years and a much stronger and organized Spanish Navy to defeat Terceira. Then we can speak about the first empire where the Sun never sets down, the one of the Iberian Union (1581-1640). The British was the second.

[@joshuaraposo251]

My family is Azorean, these stories have been truly fascinating.

[@rogeriomonteiro760]

The Azores, the island of Terceira and specialy his capital Angra, play even a major role in the Portuguese Civil War (1832-1834). It is not by chance that Angra had in 1837 his name changed to Angra do Heroísmo. Maybe this might be a teaser for another video.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Here in India, land of stories, such stories often become the basis for existence of entire cities here. Your explanation was amazing, something I had back of my mind put into words

[@davidwood117]

Just in case I haven’t said it enough recently, you are an incredible storyteller. I’m still sorry I missed you in Okinawa by an hour. Thank you. Love your work.

[@UncleBiccy]

This reminds me of Australia. *Emus: 1, Australian Army: 0*

[@stevenlubick2689]

Exactly

[@Cavemanner]

Dude, such a treat every time you post! Love how you got into the weeds of storytelling, if even just briefly. Thanks for introducing me to this story!

[@malcolmyoung7866]

NEVER… NEVER up to now watched a Rare Earth video that wasn’t 3 months old or older… Well pleased…

[@FamiWorldFacts]

6:33 Nostalgia is advertisement. Well said.

[@meisteremm]

Kind of funny to hear that line about adding insult to injury in saying that the Spanish were beaten back by a girl. It really makes you wonder if the precursor to Ghenghis Khan's death actually was being castrated by a Chinese princess and if Atila the Hun really died from getting punched out by Ildico. I guess the further you go back, the murkier the facts become. Now we can look up facts, historical or otherwise, in next to no time, and we've lost a lot of our battle cries. It's always good to be informed and to not use history as a basis for revenge or conquest, but it seems as if some unpleasant facts about the foundations of some nations have caused some citizens of those nations to turn their backs on patriotism entirely. At the point where everything you believed in about your country has been deracinated, then for what is there left to fight?

[@lauracassidy8152]

This channel is incredible. I’ve been binge-watching all weekend. Thank you!

[@CogitoNM]

My new favorite channel. Keep up the good works!

[@soundknight]

"...nobody spreads news like an islander." Great line.

[@HellaNorCal916]

I adore this channel and the all the work you guy do here. Thank you 🙏🏻.

[@D_Chess]

Interesting story. I felt for sure your end line was gonna be, "Everything else is just bullshit." Lol but you probably nixed that idea hours ago 😎

[@davidkelley5382]

Thank you, I love history & I love those who can make telling hi-s-tory in a compelling & interesting way. Nice that you acknowledge that the people who start the story impart their point of view, so we take it with a grain of salt or maybe sand.

[@lynettecarter9887]

You are and always have been the best channel. Love to you and family ❤️ keep it up ☺️

[@AndreSilva-vi8ps]

Great video! We, the Iberian peoples, still look for heroes in dealing with cows. We have even kept the barbaric tradition of letting our brave ones win a Darwin award every year, several times a year. At Terceira island they are slightly more civilized and the cows are kept on ropes but I wouldn´t want to give out spoilers here :)

[@hikawaTube]

Really emooootional story! Great job has always, good to hear stories from my country.

[@kurtdunbar912]

You are one of the best story tellers on the net. Thanks.

[@kennethtan6403]

Thank you and Much Love from the Philippines.

[@alwingametime]

So glad this channel is uploading again

[@picklep9812]

You are an amazing storyteller. I’m in awe

[@niezbo]

Very few creators makes me ponder, and ask questions... We used to say any lie is bad. But what about a made up stories about heroes and heroines? Is a lack of facts a lie in itself, it's just speculations... but is it a clearly a lie? All the stories; real, made up, or inspired - those can be good if inspire generations to fight for what is right. Even if some stories never happened, even if some people never existed - there's still an irreplaceable value to it.

[@MarieWest-tbic]

YES! Love learning the truth!!!

[@paulo50001]

Great storytelling!

[@iberomagazine]

great video !!

[@jairusmaximus]

This content it's in another level omg ❤

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

Another great episode.

[@kennyhagan5781]

Great stuff. I am a long haired freaky person from Texas and I have always wanted to check out the Azores, they have a weird place in history, kinda like the Orkneys.I have heard the theories about who actually discovered them, but I am certain that they were important at various times in antiquity to various people. The only thing I cannot say is just how far back in time we're talking. I have a hunch that the Phonecians were not the first to set foot there, and that they were mystified by the ancient traces they found of bygone people.

[@Littleboi331]

Next the story about how emus won the war against the Australian army

[@martinsantos6497]

Every story is better served with a side of truth. Let the audience make it their own myth.

[@enclavesoldier8893]

Later on during the Spanish colonial administration, a Spanish Governor was fighting a pitched land battle against the forces of the privateer Henry Morgan. Worried about losing the governor ordered all of the local cows rounded up and driven into a frenzied charge to beat back the pirates. Unfortunately the cows don’t differentiate forces and they crashed into both sides, with a majority of the losses to the Spanish, costing them the battle and leading to a nearby city being looted.

[@cruz7579]

great story. well done.

[@igorzkoppt]

I've seen videos of cows running to defend their master, so it's not impossible. If the cows understand there is a threat, and they get just a little motivation from their owner to attack instead of fleeing, it's not completely impossible.

[@NarffetWerlz]

Because here in 2022, we can know for certain 100% everything online is the truth!

[@smaza2]

as an aussie it's deeply gratifying to see another country's army also losing to animals

[@know_know_know]

Nice story. Thank you!

[@kalrandom7387]

Please show us some of the cart tracks while in the Azores please

[@mopippenger7373]

I acknowledge the ambiguity of the reality of the story but I'm gonna have to ignore that and choose to believe in Brianda

[@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347]

Spain’s Cow Warriors vs. Australia’s Emu Fighters Now those are opponents worthy of each other, their battle will be legendary!

[@sixeses]

Wow, those are some serious hedgerows ! Don Antonio de Crato was relying on her when he claimed to QE1 that the Portuguese would rise up "as one man", "as one women" might have been a better appeal. Have you read Orwell's Homage to Catalonia?

[@RvB_Fan_since_8]

Nothing better to make my day than a new rare earth video

[@Nyerguds]

I second that :)

[@esgee3829]

you had me at bullship, you bastard

[@TycoonHL]

8:02 I wanna know who's driving around the Azores in a Ferrari 360

[@neilhanson6806]

"this is what the nobility pays for" Incidental but appropriate line

[@koriw1701]

Evan, I love your style! Enough to stay a sub until one of us dies, or we get sick of KZbin's algorithm (much more likely, I'll warrant) Perhaps, since you did a bit on this woman of Terceira, I think it meet and fit for you to give you a little background on Vlad the Impaler. He was a hero. Known by a different name in his home town, he was called Vlad Dracul and he was a man who took his enemies and had them slowly lowered onto a large pike, up Chocolate Pass and ending up in Laryngeal Street. Am I too late? Have you done this man already? Because I'd like to know him as his people knew him. Especially why a man of blood-lust and aggression could be worshipped as a hero. He put a giant pig-sticker up the rectums of his enemies and scared the begeezus out of every soldier sent to root him out, but he was as much loved and as wealthy as the people could bestow One of the things I do know, is, why the hero worship? Would you please do a piece about him? He was of Romanian birth, but his father relocated them into Transylvania! (Big drums!)

[@xMaverickFPS]

What kind of amazing camera do you use for these beautiful scenes?

[@nunobarros915]

I'm Portuguese and I had no clue. Thank you.

[@GedMaybury23]

Damn! You had me there for a minute at 'Cows'!

[@MissLilyputt]

The cow eating at the very end is so cute.

[@rusty_juice_tin]

"... because they said she is, to themselves and to each other. Again, and again and again." Always enjoy seeing how we keep all these stories afloat. Keep that flowery nonsense flowing. edit: But also, like, grow your brand in whatever way you see fit obviously.

[@sophiamarquis]

"Azores" 😆😆😆

[@marianisly8107]

your scripts are poetry... I would take a class just to learn how to write in this style🖋️

[@Lucky14970]

Perspective is everything...

[@theHotpointHoodlum]

I enjoyed this one. Levels of emotion was just right. Long live the sacred cow….

[@Gillsing]

Cows: More unexpected than the Spanish inquisition.

[@divineinpurple9058]

What are those palm trees growing in the hedgerows?

[@jonlpage]

Kata "What do I edit tho" Hadfield 😂😂

[@comradespoon3104]

"Nobody spreads news like an islander" Oh man as a Greek I laughed hard at the truth of this, amazing how same enviroment breeds same culture everywhere making for such universal truths

[@eljanrimsa5843]

I love the azulejos

[@curioustill]

I feel like this season is the most cynical so far. Basically "everything is just stories. Deal with it!". And I love it!

[@meetim2931]

You spoke a lot about how various others would tell the story, & I was waiting for the reveal about what actually happened, which didn't arrive. Then the penny dropped.

[@zetijeti]

The b-roll became the only roll, and somehow it still works

[@geridannels1701]

Good one Rare earth, nice try, but I like the "take the bump"

[@btmountaineer93]

I miss that place.

[@r.ladaria135]

I recall a simmilar history, but for real, in the Caribbean sea against Drake.

[@brainysmurf1125]

dang I wish I knew how you spoke so eloquently

[@a.m.9474]

You really like it there

[@stevejohnson3357]

You raise an important point. A process of consentual fiction works with fans of supermarket tabloids and wwe wrestling. If it's good vs evil, it's more fun. Because we need to talk as if it was real some people think it is real. And if that leaks into politics, watch out.

[@inkynewt]

What's the woman at 6:59 creating? Can someone explain to me? I'm curious.

[@RareEarthSeries]

She's actually a Dutch artist who makes jewelry in a rural part of the Azores. I think in Faial. Very nice lady, great jewelry.

[@inkynewt]

@@RareEarthSeries Thank you! I thought she might be making a stamp block of some sort but jewelry pieces makes a lot of sense! Good travels to you ♡

[@killercaos123]

Nothing hits harder than nostalgia

[@jaybee9269]

I can’t say I found this one very engaging.

[@RareEarthSeries]

Honestly not my fave, struggled to write this one, it happens

[@marceloantunes998]

yeah, it's kind of crap Hit some miss some, nobody's perfect

[@RareEarthSeries]

@@marceloantunes998 the problem was that if I wrote it funny then it sounds like I'm mocking women's lib and the dictatorship, and if I write it sombre it doesn't emotionally connect, but just telling the story isn't really my style - kinda backed myself into a wall choosing this story

[@bazoo513]

@@RareEarthSeries Hey, 'fes up - you are so proud of "this is what nobility pays for; this is what the audience wants to hear" and "there is no eternal truth" and "everything else, though? Just speculation." It is probably wise to be reminded how tenuous "historical facts" are, but let's not fall into the trap of "everything is a construct". Facts _do_ exist. Interpretations may vary, even drastically so, but the Universe happens independently of our outlook. All nations (and other, smaller groups) have similar stories. Few are now taken as much more than just that, cute, sometimes perhaps a bit inspirational, stories. But when they are used to whip up nationalist fervor at somebody else's expense, _then_ they become dangerous. For example, back to the facts: Holocaust _did_ happen and along with it many inconvenient bits of historic fact like existence of antisemitism outside of Hitler's mad empire. But when it is used as an excuse for denying Arabs of Palestine their homeland, well, then we have crossed the line.

[@RareEarthSeries]

Yes, the Holocaust happened, and if you want to tell a story about it instead of listing facts you'll have to put a frame around that story. The frame will contain something called a lie by omission, it has to, that's the nature of storytelling. So it becomes more of a question of what facts do you use to create that frame. How rigorous is the truth within the story that can never encapsulate the truth? Facts exist, I agree. But when you're talking about a social memory they're always going to be a story. And stories aren't how we present facts. Facts are swallowed by them, and in the end in practice what we end up with is a myth that morphs around the truths we now consider pillars of the stories we intend to tell next. No matter how many facts we feed into it, the story will always end up as a myth that incorporates them, as I see it. Or at least, that's how it currently happens around me. I'm not saying facts don't exist or that they don't matter. What I'm saying is humans view the world in a way that turns facts into stories, and these stories are the foundation for how we as a collective view the world.

[@JeffAllison]

No, you told it just right. # of views be damned, you are a great story teller.

[@bachpham6862]

Australian Emu: Finally, a worthy opponent.

[@raythegardener]

"Bull ship"? Couldn't resist, eh?

[@fitz12ify]

Well aparently using bulls and cows in war is a common iberian tactic. As the spanish did the same to the english in a battle in Jamaica. And talking about women raising in arms to defend their people. It is also deep in iberian blood. As there is also Maria Pita whom single handedly lifted the english siege of La Coruña after the english killed her spouse.

[@rc9667]

It wasn't cows it was Bulls!

[@wadelintick9538]

Forest Gump once said, " it happens, " share the wealth. cheers

[@AsiaMinor12]

Emus: 1, Australian army: 0

[@patrickdurham8393]

There is an eternal truth it just may not be hers.

[@VoidUnderTheSun]

Looks like the Portuguese learned from their experiences with the Khoekhoe...

[@Cubic5]

The thing about good propaganda is that you want it to be true.

[@kugelblitzingularity304]

I heard when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, especially in the countryside, the locals would raid the Japanese camps at night. Never knew if that was true. edit: seems true enough in wikipedia

[@jackwood8307]

❤

[@chetan.sharan]

i really y believed there was a bull leading the cows to victory or something like that in this video...dammit..now i have to invent my own myth.😀