Before slavery rears its ugly head in North America, Africans and people of African descent traverse the northeastern part of the continent as free entrepreneurs - traders, guides and interpreters; men such as Matthieu Da Costa, and "Jan" Rodrigues. Who they were - especially Rodrigues, the man the Dutch called "The Mulatto" - how they interacted with the Europeans and Native Americans, their value and impact, is the heart of Segment #2, and aptly sets the stage for the next segment.