Sentence:  Had the <WSD>situation</WSD> been reversed , had , for instance , England been the enemy in 1898 because of issues of concern chiefly to New England , there is little doubt that large numbers of Southerners would have happily put on their old Confederate uniforms to fight as allies of Britain . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time