Werel is a fictional planet in the 'Ekumen

Ekumen

The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of them are not set on the planet Hain, but have it as a distant background...

' science fiction novels of Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...

. It is the fourth planet of a yellow-white star. It is dominated by the Voe Deo, who independently colonised Yeowe, the previously uninhabited third planet. It is one of two planets of this name in that series.

Werel and the Voe Deo

Werel was colonised by the ancient Hainish people, long ago. There seem to have been no native animals: all existing animals are of Hainish origin, as are some of the plants. Like most planets of the ancient Hainish expansion, it lost touch and forgot its origins. It became dominated by the Voe Deo, an aggressive, progressive, black-skinned people. They dominated the lighter-skinned people of the north. It developed a stable system of slavery and capitalism that lasted for at least 3000 years. The tale of the break-down of this system is told in Four Ways to Forgiveness

Four Ways to Forgiveness

Four Ways to Forgiveness is a collection of four short stories or novellas by Ursula K. Le Guin. All four stories are set in the future and deal with the planets Yeowe and Werel, both members of the Ekumen, a collective of planets used by Le Guin as part of the background for many novels and short...

, and also the short story Old Music and the Slave Women

The Birthday of the World

The Birthday of the World is a collection of short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin, and first published in March, 2002 by HarperCollins. All of the stories except "Paradises Lost" were previously published individually elsewhere....

.

This Werel should not be confused with the Werel

Werel (Alterra)

Werel is a fictional planet of the star Gamma Draconis, in the 'Ekumen' science fiction stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. It is one of two planets of this name in that series.-History:...

 of Planet of Exile

Planet of Exile

Planet of Exile is a 1966 science-fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin in her Hainish Cycle. It was first published as an Ace Double following the tête-bêche format, bundled with Mankind Under the Leash by Thomas M. Disch.-Plot summary:...

and City of Illusions

City of Illusions

City of Illusions is a 1967 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set on Earth in the distant future in her Hainish Cycle. City of Illusions is significant because it lays the foundation for the Hainish cycle, a fictional world in which the majority of Ursula K...

, which is the third planet of the orange giant star Gamma Draconis. In the introduction to the collection The Birthday of the World

The Birthday of the World

The Birthday of the World is a collection of short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin, and first published in March, 2002 by HarperCollins. All of the stories except "Paradises Lost" were previously published individually elsewhere....

, Le Guin admits an error in reusing the name and indicates she had forgotten its prior use.

Yeowe

This planet had complex life on land and in the sea, but no intelligent inhabitants until the Voe Deo colonised it. They brought in their own plant and animal species, killing off a lot of the native forms. The Werelians developed rocket-craft to reach, settle, mine and exploit it. Slaves were shipped there early on, mostly male. Female slaves found themselves at the bottom of a complex social system formed by slave men in the absence of women.

Rakuli and other worlds

The star 'RK-tamo-5544-34' has 16 planets, including Werel and Yeowe. Life also developed on the fifth planet, Rakuli. But it is arid and cold, fit only for its native invertebrates and not yet used by the Werelians.