Abstract:

This article examines the convoluted global story of Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorff, a zebra breeder in German East Africa. Around 1900, he promised to tame zebras and to crossbreed them with horses to create a new draught animal: the zebroid. Being an avid trickster, Bronsart continuously managed to attract new sponsors for over a decade, most prominently Emperor Wilhelm II. By tracing the global story of zebra breeding and domestication through multiple archives, this article explores the potential of a microhistorical approach to global history. The case study investigates how Bronsart and his rivals navigated a complex, sometimes paradoxical, web of global and local connections. It argues that only a multilayered analysis of entanglements can provide an accurate picture of global processes. Furthermore, it assesses how these processes influenced historical actors, and, in turn, were fashioned by the actors themselves.

摘要：

本文探讨了德国东非斑马繁殖者Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorff的复杂的全球故事。约于1900年，他答应驯服斑马，并与马杂交，以创造一种新的吃水动物：斑马。作为狂热的骗子，十多年来，布朗萨特不断设法吸引新的赞助商，其中最著名的是威廉二世皇帝。通过在多个档案中追踪斑马繁育和驯化的全球故事，本文探讨了微观历史方法对全球历史的潜力。该案例研究调查了Bronsart及其竞争对手如何驾驭复杂的，有时是自相矛盾的全球和本地联系网络。它认为，只有对纠缠的多层分析才能提供全局过程的准确描述。此外，它评估了这些过程如何影响历史参与者，并进而由参与者自己形成。