Hmmm... so, thieves who steal from other thieves may view their actions as less reprehensible than thieves who steal from the original owners?

European colonialism was just an example of a practice that dates back to prehistory, and can even be seen in the behavior of our chimpanzee cousins - 'raiding' is the word for it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to justify it. Just to point out that it wasn't only the British engaging in this behavior. Also I find it a pretty funny historical fact, large part of the British Museum's Egypt collection actually comes from French raids.

the sands of Egypt are soaked in blood of many nations, peoples and the rest