Joaquim Bensaúde was born into a Hebrew family that migrated in the 19 th century from Morocco to the island of São Miguel in the Azores, where they settled and went on to create a vast chain of diversified businesses. We know that his grandfather, Abraham Ben Saud, settled there in 1818 or 1819, trying out a way of life that was increasingly difficult in Morocco and to which Europe was opening its arms after the French Revolution and, above all, after the Napoleonic gale that ended in 1815. Even in Portugal – where the persecution of Jews had been extremely ferocious in the 16 th and 17 th centuries – the atmosphere was opening up to the children of Israel with winds of religious tolerance and, above all, new conceptions about the economy and the wealth of nations, which understood development as the result of free trade and competition.

Abraham Ben Saud obtained Portuguese nationality in 1830, and his naturalisation card indicates him as Abraham Bensod, a name that the Portuguese language quickly rounded off to the extent of its vocalic comfort to the surname Bensaúde. His eldest son had been born in Casablanca, but the rest of his children already saw the light on Azorean soil as part of the second generation of the newly arrived Israeli community, brimming with the energy inherent in the conviction that they were ushering in a new era.

José Bensaúde, the youngest son of the family patriarch and father of Joaquim Bensaúde, was the great builder of the Bensaúde emporium and responsible for the children ’ s cultural education and technical training. We can say that he was an example of a man fascinated by the idea of development typical of those times, who knew how to love culture and life, understanding it as a process of permanent enhancement, with a fundamental instrument in books and study. José Bensaúde showed particular care in his children's education , sending them to study abroad, choosing Germany on the advice of Antero de Quental. In 1874, his wife and children settled in Hanover, where Joaquim attended the Higher Technical School, obtaining his diploma as a civil engineer in 1884. With this professional qualification , he worked in London, Cette (France) and, from 1890, in Lisbon.

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