Colonialism goes beyond the standard raping and pillaging; it's about setting up a puppet government to facilitate the exploitation of resources. The Europeans didn't really do that during the Crusades; they literally just wanted the city of Jerusalem itself to be in the hands of true believers in Christ, rather than governed by heathens. The Christians stole some treasure but not all that much; they mostly just planted flags/crosses on the Jerusalem ramparts and killed anyone who got in the way.

No pretending needed; that shit *was* normal. The Anglo-Saxons learned conquest from getting their asses kicked by the Normans, and before that by the Vikings, and before that the Romans. And yes, the Russians did the same shit every chance they got.