I'm currently playing my second GC (1.0.9) as England. (My first attempt as Austria having failed in disaster.) As I recall, I had only a little trouble defeating Scotland. They were immediately in an alliance with the French, so I waited until their alliance expired to declare war with them. Up until then, I steadily added troops to the Northern provinces, so I had enough to blitzkrieg them. I also moved half my navy to the Irish Sea to cut off any invasion by the Scots into Ireland. Spain, as my ally, also provided some troops which helped to keep the Scots in retreat.
At the moment, it is ~1615. I hold all of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and have managed to acquire Picardie, Artois and Caux while holding Calais. I've got substantial holding in N. America, and enough colonies in Africa to get me into India, but they are spread pretty thin, and I probably need an Explorer to get all the way there without attrition.
My biggest problem is that I'm behind the French significantly in Land Tech. I'm not really sure how that happened. Fortunately, I controlled Santal and Table when CoT's opened up there, so I've got a pretty good income, but I'm not sure it will be enough to catch up with the French. My last war with them, I somehow managed to escape with Caux, but at the cost of an entire 60K army lost during a battle against a lesser force. The lack of good English generals is also a problem. Spain is still my ally (along with Austria and Savoy), and I'm still Catholic! I figure without a strong alliance, I'm French food, so I've resisted the urge to convert to Protestantism. Spain has been a pretty strong ally so far, with vast holdings in the New World, but during the last war France handled them pretty easily. The French always seem to go after Spain instead of me during wars, at least at first, which is probably why I still have holdings on the Continent. Spain, on the otherhand, seems satisfied with capturing French colonies and trading posts in the New World. I'd like to take on the Netherlands, but as they are allied with France, there's no way to do it - yet!
I find it sometimes frustrating not to be able to conquer at will, but I guess that's what makes this game so different. So far (after only a few weeks), I'm lovin' it! I love reading the AARs too! I only wish I had the time and the historical background to contribute one of my own. Perhaps next time.
