Hi !
I'm French, so most of the time, I can't help myself but play as France, tho, I love playing UP too. Actually, I enjoy it a lot. For sure, in VH/VH, it's quite a challenge. But few tips may help you out.
Forget about peace, economy is the key. You have to make sure you run the "increase trade" option. It doubles your income from trading more or less, making your fluyts more useful. Secure all the Ivory cost. It's sad to say, but the slaves trade is what will give you a lot of money.
Built as many fourth rate as you can afford to protect your main Harbor (4/5 off the costs of Amsterdam, few spare for the Caribbean sea), you can't get your main port raided or blockaded even for one turn, it's a no go. Try not to expend at first. Get ready to take the French Guyana when France declare war on you and try to secure the Flanders if you can, but no conquest until your income allows it.
Play defensive until 1720 at least. Built Two school in your region capital. Trade tech with IA is a good way to secure the peace for several turns. CIA will attack you whenever there is no garrison at or near one of your region capital, or if its army is twice as big as yours. It's no rocket science, but bet on it. Keep a unit in every Harbor you own, It gives you one more turn to react to a landing operation.
When you have the opportunity, use three fleet to block the path in Gibraltar an every side of Denmark. This way you prevent fleets from within the Med and the Baltic to access the trade zone. You will also have their trade fleet waiting to be taken. In a campaign with France I'm in 1730 and own 41 trade ships already.
You just can't do like Napoleon by 1700 and conquer half Europe within half of a decade. This mod requires to be patient. But you can also use ESF editor and give you a kick start by editing your starting money and tech. If you want the challenge of the campaign without the difficulty being too extreme, you may find your middle ground by doing so. But don't go too far, it spoils the fun too
.
I must say I've downgraded my version of the mod to 4.9, more stable on my computer and I still have elite marines units in the roster (I love the Korps Mariners while playing the Dutch.)
I hope it helped you a bit getting a more enjoyable game experience with ID
Best regards.