re: #116 Feline Fearless Leader

There’s some sort of historical line around the late 19th or early 20th century after which conquering and annexing territory became “bad” in the eyes of the current mainstream. Beginning of the realization that non-Europeans might have nationalistic desires of their own, or something else.

This hasn’t prevented various territory transfers since then, especially following the two World Wars, but there was a sea change at some point.

[A clarification: This is from the viewpoint of Western Civilization and its historical record. I am pretty sure the various peoples subjected to the assaults, colonial overlordship, exploitation, and arbitrary territorial divisions never saw it as a good thing.]

You need one additional change.

As to your substantive point, I’d largely agree, but I’d point out that some conquered peoples, such as the Zulus of South Africa, were conquerors themselves. That should not be taken to mean that the UK was in the right to attack the Zulu Kingdom in 1879, but it does mean that the Zulus were not innocent either.