In 1871 the German Reich was founded. This abolished the many minor German states along with their borders and customs regulations. The new Reich enabled the showmen to travel more easily. German colonial expansion in the 1870s made some showmen begin to think global, like industrialists. Carl Hagenbeck from Hamburg, for example, started his small menagerie in 1848 at the age of four with six performing seals. By the late 19th century, he had emerged as the world’s undisputed leader in the capture and transport of exotic animals. He developed the idea of a menagerie and Völkerschau (an exhibition of various natives) alongside each other. He trained exotic animals without the use of force. This was quickly known as the Hagenbeck method. He never performed in his own circus. But Hagenbeck influenced many circus masters. He also improved the concept of the zoological garden. Hagenbeck produced impressive native shows like Amazon Corps, Ceylon, East-African Caravan and Indian Tribes. He conveyed the idea of the colonial empire to the common people. This was a typical German phenomenon. Hagenbeck and other showmen-entrepreneurs no longer exhibited on the fairground. Their shows took place at zoos and other ‘respectable’ scenes. They were really big business with up to 93,000 visitors per day. Despite the big competition of these shows, circuses and zoological gardens however, the genuine fairground shows lived on. Especially the ‘Cannibals’, but also freaks, monstrosities and rare animals became showmen’s standards at German fairs far into the 20th century.