In 1917, Europe was in shambles. Russia was still imploding internally, with Nicholas II still struggling to keep the throne in the face of anarchist revolts all across the country that the military were nonetheless managing to somehow push back. Kaiser Wilhelm III was proving to be a moderate sort of person, who interacted with much more tact in his government and abroad, but still had to face widespread anger and unhappiness at losing the war, even when there hadn't been any "winners". The Second French Empire under Napoleon IV had collapsed, and was replaced by a new Republican government. Austria-Hungary had completely shattered, with every minority in rebellion against Kaiser Karl I of Austria, even the Hungarians. Italy was facing a new level of unhappiness against its government, with some even beginning to advocate the abolition of the monarchy. As it stood, the only nations that had any real level of stability after the war were those of the British Isles. Ireland, the nation that had put the least amount of manpower and time into the war was least affected, while England and Scotland faced some unrest but not to the degree of toppling their governments.
Scotland's government had retreated into itself to lick its wounds, to the detriment of most of its colonial Empire. The Sikh Empire, for its part, sent relief supplies to Scotland as a sign of goodwill and friendship, with the Maharaja meeting publicly with James IX in August 1917. However, many of the natives of the colonies who had fought in the war were, across almost all European colonies, feeling angry at how they had been dragged into a war that hadn't had any real conclusion nor victory. New movements began for independence across Africa and Asia, especially in English-controlled India. A new revolt among both Hindu and Muslim Indians began to smoulder throughout the north of the subcontinent, that England had a diminished ability to manage. Scotland, meanwhile, was facing renewed revolt in Gabon and Kenya. In all, every European nation that had colonies and had made use of them was facing new challenges to those Empires from the natives. This was especially acute in Scotland, as a large chunk of her manpower came from her colonies abroad.
In 1919, President Georges Clemenceau, only the second President to ever govern France, called for a summit of the nations of Europe, the first time that the Concert of Europe was being used since the Great War had brought much of that system to a violent, bloody, and abrupt end. Many nations accepted, and soon, the "Big 5" were at the table again: Russia, France, England, Germany, and Italy. Scotland was present as well, along with various other middle and lesser powers such as Portugal, Belgium, Serbia, and representatives of the new Slavic nations in the Balkans such as Bulgaria and Albania that had broken out of the shattered remains of the Ottoman Empire. The European Summit of 1919 was called by many the "real" peace conference for the Great war, when the nations of Europe met together to hammer out a new peace in Europe. The debates and negotiations lasted for several weeks and threatened to extend past two months, but in the end, a new peace was reached. In particular, England and Scotland finally reached a lasting peace that determined once and for all that they would not go to war with each other, would dismantle fortifications along their common border, and would push more effort into the British League with Ireland. Germany and France also agreed to a demilitarized zone along their border, although Germany kept Alsace-Lorraine. The Austro-Hungarian Empire bad broken into many smaller nations, and the remnant of the Habsburg domain (the "Austrian" portion of the former Austria-Hungary) agreed to annexation into the German Empire as part of a restored Archduchy of Austria, fulfilling the concept of "Großdeutschland" that had been a desire of many Austrians prior to the Franco-Prussian War. Russia agreed to the recognition of the Kingdom of Poland, but also to the existence of new nations, such as the three Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, along with the nation of Belarus and that of Ukraine. The Ottomans, though, were not present, and did not have any representation in the delegation that recognized the independence of the new Balkan nations.
By 1920, Europe was finally starting to recover, faster in nations that had not seen any fighting than in others. Scotland, Ireland, and England, in particular, were doing rather well. While they still owed much money to the United States, which had been a debtor but not a fighter in the Great War, the boom of industrial production that had come with the war had spurred new economic growth in peacetime. As the war ended, new social issues came to the fore; most notably, the issue of women's suffrage. The government in 1920 was under the Liberal Party headed by Prime Minister Robert Munro, as well as still being under the reign of King James IX, who was more partial to the issue than he was opposed to it. In April of 1920, instead of creating any new law to enact the measure, the Munro Government created a public plebiscite that, although only open to men and unmarried women, passed with a margin of 10%, enacting women's suffrage in Scotland. This was just part of the wider cultural revolution that was taking place amidst the "Rising Twenties". Men and women alike were dressing in less formal, and looser clothes, women were wearing their hair in the new "bob" cut, giving many the nickname "bobbers", people went traveling more on the nationalized railways to go farther on holiday, but perhaps most importantly, the new innovation of the mass-produced automobile had made its way to Europe, allowing people greater personal freedom to go where they wanted on their own terms. It was a time of great promise and potential, of newfound freedom and ability.
In 1923, King James IX suddenly and abruptly died of a severe heart attack, which many had been a result of a heart defect that had been present in Queen Mary III and Queen Mary IV, raising the possibility that it was genetic. Regardless, James IX had produced two children by this time, both daughters. As such, the eldest daughter, Anne, ascended to the throne as Queen Anne II, the third Queen of Scots in the last century. Many people had confidence at the start of her reign, ready to keep building their nation up and up and up. For the first time since the start of the Great War, people had hope for the future again.