I think plomeros still needs money though. So what to do about this?
This can be looked at in 2 ways. 1. reduce expenditure 2. increase income
Expenditure can be reduced by paying off the loans (needing more money, of course), increasing the amount you pay to treasury each month, or by reducing your military. If your military is significantly over the support limit then you could even be losing money, while still racking up serious inflation. See the second shield at the top for your military support costs.
Income can be increased by promoting tax collectors, sending merchants or just attacking someone. If that someone is big enough for your large remaining army to be insufficient on its own, you probably won't get enough from the war for it to be worthwhile.
For the full explanation of true synchronised looting as a tactic, see wss_32's AAR where he conquers the world on very hard difficulty as Benin. It is extremely tricky to do and I would get bored very quickly. It is also generally considered a game exploit, but feel free if you want.
On nationalism, I assume you have tweaked your religous sliders.
Generally though, Isaac is right, place a few traders, though don't try for 5 in each centre of trade just yet, keep quiet, and pay off those loans.
Apologies if you know all or most of this already.
