José Antonio Saco (May 7, 1797 – September 26, 1879) was a statesman, deputy to the Spanish Cortes, writer, social critic, publicist, essayist, anthropologist, historian, and one of the most notable Cuban figures from the nineteenth century.

[1][3][4] In 1832 he returned to Havana, and held the editorship of Revista Bimestre Cubana, a magazine which published articles that ranged from immigration, abolition, statistics, and education, until 1834, year when he was expelled from the island on account of his liberal ideas and anti-slavery principles.

[2] In 1833 his numerous essays about roadways, and living conditions like vagrancy in Cuba, awarded him the first prizes in competitions held by the Sociedad Patriótica (Patriotic Society).

[2] In 1836 he was elected to represent the eastern part of Cuba in the Spanish Cortes, but he did not take his seat, as the Madrid government deprived the colonies of representation.

[2] In the last years of his life, he began the voluminous work Historia de la esclavitud desde los tiempos más remotos, of which, several tomes were published before his death.