Setting
Wise Women is a game set in January1953, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in the UK.
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The world of the game is identical to our own, with one important difference: the Talent that the Wise Women possess.
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A Brief History
Our game is set on the Island of Lewis and Harris, in the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) of Scotland in the United Kingdom. The northern and southern parts of the island are usually referred to as separate entities- our setting is in the north on the Isle of Lewis.
On the west coast of Lewis, facing the wild Atlantic Ocean, is the crofting village of Gearrannan. This area has been inhabited by humans since ancient times. The Calanias Standing Stones were erected at least 5,000 years ago. Iron Age hillforts and houses are dated to around 2,000 years ago. Christianity spread through the Western Isles from around 1,500 years ago and was somewhat disrupted by the Viking and Norse settlers who occupied Lewis along with all the northern Scottish islands from approximately 1,200 years ago. Scotland's islands changed hands several times; the Lords of the Isles were Norse-Gaelic rulers of the Western Isles and claimed as vassals of Norway, Ireland, or Scotland depending on how various wars were going. Eventually Lewis was permanently returned to Scottish rule around 800 years ago in exchange for stacks of cash and a treaty with Norway.
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About 500 years ago the Lordship collapsed, resulting in many years of clan feuding and occasional open warfare. According to local history, the final clan battle took place around 400 years ago.
300 years ago saw the Jacobite Rebellion, with the people of Lewis offering support to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s cause. The ultimate defeat of the Jacobites resulted in repercussions for the island including an increased military presence and coordinated efforts to disarm and dismantle the clan system.
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Around this time there was a shift from self-sufficient subsistence farming towards mass propagation of kelp to meet the requirement for alkali minerals throughout the British Empire. This boom industry saw its bust around 200 years ago, when foreign sources of these minerals were found, resulting in the utter collapse of the economy on Lewis. Workers lost their livelihoods, landlords became bankrupt, and almost all remaining clan landowners lost their estates to their creditors.
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The resulting new landowners often had little connection to the people of the Western Isles, and did not consider their happiness when looking for alternative ways for the land to make them money. The Highland Clearances saw the people of Lewis forcibly relocated from the fertile farming land to the fringes of the island- often to barely-cultivable rocky coastal locations.
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Roughly 80 years before our game
Increased hardship following the clearances, combined with subsequent potato famine meant many inhabitants left Lewis for Canada, America, or Australia. Landowners encouraged and often facilitated emigration- preferring the loss of rent over the risk of being required to support their tenants through a food crisis.
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50 years before our game
There was a movement in the Western Isles to attempt to reclaim crofting lands, culminating in raids and riots. Eventually the Crofters Act of 1886 gave some protection to crofting families.
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Around 30 years before our game
The Great War saw conscription of almost every ‘able-bodied’ man on Lewis, bringing serious disruption to farming and fishing. A huge percentage of the male population were enlisted and around 1,200 were killed. 208 of these men died as a result of the Iolaire disaster of 1918 when they were returning home. When compared with the UK as a whole, the percentage of men lost was doubled on the Isle of Lewis.
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About 15 years before our game
The Second World War saw many men enlisted in the Royal Navy, and in the emerging Royal Air Force. This had a great impact on island life; the RAF base at Stornoway had a cinema that locals could visit! The war led to loss of life and hardship for many, but did improve island life in some ways: roads and airstrips have been built allowing inhabitants of Lewis to maintain links with the mainland.
Following the war there was an effort from the landowner of Lewis to industrialise Stornoway and the surrounding villages, but he was unsuccessful due to pressure from locals who wanted to remain in possession of their own crofting land.
1 year before our game
King George VI of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth died at the age of 56. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. The new Queen is just 25 years old and has not yet had her official coronation- that will take place after our game is set in the summer of 1953.​
Geography & Climate
The Isle of Lewis is approximately 680 square miles in size and is relatively flat. Sandy beaches frame the Atlantic west coast, with acidic central peat bogs, and fertile eastern farmland edged by rugged cliffs. There are seawater and freshwater inland lochs.
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The influence of the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf Stream produce a cool climate with rainfall in every season and a relatively small change in temperature between summer and winter. Cloud and wind are a common feature of the weather on Lewis!
The difference in daylight hours from summer to winter is extreme: with over 18 hours of daylight on the longest day in June, compared to just under 6.5 hours on the shortest day in December.
Religion
The predominant religion on the Isle of Lewis in 1953 is The Free Church of Scotland, a branch of Protestant Christianity characterised by strict Sunday observance (no work, travel or recreation), belief in the literal truth of the bible, and an understanding that all members of the church are equals with Christ as their leader (a rejection of church officer hierarchy). Practically, this means that the community in which our Wise Women live is structured around a belief in hard work, simplicity, neatness and modesty.
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All of our Wise Women would be expected to attend church on Sundays, and many would also attend during the week. Home life often featured gathering as a family for daily prayers and bible reading. Social status is closely linked to observance of a strict code of morals, and the wider community is watchful of its members in order to identify any who stray from the true path!
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Our game is set just after the Hebrides Revival of 1949, in which there was a sudden surge of religious feeling including many reported instances of the power of God overcoming people at work or at home. The result was fuller churches, and a renewed fervour for adherence to religious teaching.
Economy
Crofting
The majority of people living on the Isle of Lewis in 1953 would have been subsistence farmers called Crofters. They would have worked hard on their small plots of land to raise cattle, sheep, vegetables and oats. These would have been used for their own family’s food, with some small amount for trade or barter.
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Deep Sea Fishing
The most important industry on Lewis in 1953 was the fishing. Many men took part either as fishermen on boats or as workers in fish processing. Despite efforts to industrialise fishing, it remained predominantly in the hands of local families. The fishing industry expanded rapidly after WW2, however it was experiencing a slump in the 1950s and many fishing families were facing financial hardship.
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A fisherman’s wages depended on the type of arrangement he had with the boat owner. Some boats were owned by private individuals or collectives who paid their crew a share of the price fetched for the catch, whilst boats owned by larger fishing companies might have paid a flat rate with deductions or bonuses depending on the amount of fish caught.
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Weaving
The collection, treatment, and weaving of woollen fabric for personal use has been carried out in homes on Lewis for generations. The use of locally collected lichen to create dyes gives the fabric the distinctive mottled appearance.
In the 1840s the landowner of Harris took a fancy to the fabric made by her tenants and subsequently popularised it amongst the upper classes of mainland Scotland. The rising popularity of the cloth resulted in increased production and export.
This increase in demand brought competition from other weavers, and factory woven fabric from the mainland. After much argument and negotiation, a trademark was awarded to Harris Tweed- now defined as cloth dyed, spun, and woven in crofters’ own homes in the Outer Hebrides.
Several of our Wise Women supplement their household income by weaving bolts of tweed for local mills. The mills provide the wool and collect the woven fabric before washing, finishing, and selling the finished tweed. Our Wise Women are small scale producers, making only two or three bolts per year.
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Here are some examples of working conditions and wages from 1953:​​​​​
Politics
The Isle of Lewis is part of Scotland, which is itself part of the United Kingdom. The nation includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, having succeeded her father in February 1952. She has yet to have her official coronation- this will take place in June 1953, 6 months after our game is set.
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The government of the UK is formed by the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister is Winston Churchill. This is Churchill’s second term, having originally served from 1940-1945. He led the UK through the war but lost the election in 1945 to the Labour leader Clement Attlee. Churchill’s party won again in 1951. Read more about the politics of Scotland here.
Daily Life in 1953
The island has not yet been linked up to the National Electricity Grid, meaning that most homes have no electricity. More wealthy islanders will have their own personal generators, but most rely on peat burning stoves and kerosene lamps.
There is growing animosity towards the attempts by large companies to set up fishing fleets and processing plants on the island, this has the potential to push out the local fishermen. Some men have already sold their boats to large corporations.
Money is very tight for most of our Wise Women and their families. Family finances are heavily tied to fishing conditions, and the success of crofting. Very few people have money to spare and most cannot afford to be out of work for even a week.
The Second World War ended only 8 years prior to the setting for our game- food rationing continues. Rationing of petrol and clothing has ended, however sugar and meat remain limited commodities.
Television is becoming more popular- with an increase in customers purchasing television sets in order to watch the upcoming coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. However, there is no television signal to Lewis and nobody on the island has a television receiver.
Radio is a popular method of listening to music and the BBC World Service is received by many homes. The broadcast is in English, so many of the local islanders would not fully understand the dialogue. In our game we allow participants to decide for themselves if their characters fully understand the radio broadcasts.