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Collection: José Antonio Saco Letters | Special & Area Studies Collections
This collection consists of four letters written by the Cuban abolitionist José Antonio Saco during his residence in Europe. All the letters are addressed to his friend José Luis Alfonso y García and provide an intimate and personal account of the writer's own life. The letters very much reflect his advocacy for emancipation in Cuba. The first letter, written from Spain, is dated a few years after his expulsion from Cuba. In it, Saco describes groups in Spain that support Cuban independence and asks his friend for help in obtaining a passport that could allow for easier travel throughout Europe. The second letter, written during his stay in Paris, is the longest of this collection and highlights his liberal ideas and his anti-slavery stance, for which he gained the title of "amigo de los negros." The third letter expresses his concerns for Cuba as slave revolts and uprisings unfold, but he still states that emancipation is necessary. The final letter explains his work on an anti-slavery tract that would be published in Paris the following year.
