The history of Senior&Co
Our history began in the year 1896 when the company Senior & Co, founded by Haim Mendes Chumaceiro (also known as Shon Inchi) and his business partner Edgar Senior, operated a drugstore in Curaçao called 'Botika Excelsior'. The walls of that botika witnessed the beginning of it all, when Chumaceiro started producing an "aperitif" or "digestif" using his family's recipe and calling it Senior's Curaçao Tonic. They soon changed the name to Senior's Curaçao Liqueur.
By the year 1900, after Chumaceiro's death, his widow continued his legacy in her home, but in modest quantities. It was not until 1945 that the company began to take shape. The current company Senior & Co. was incorporated, and the descendants of the Senior and Chumaceiro families, plus some of the island's larger companies, held the shares. At the same time, the new company purchased the recipe from widow Chumaceiro.
Our Jewish heritage lies in the fact that both founders were Jewish. They were among the Sephardic Jews who once came to Curaçao and who still occupy a prominent place in the island's history to this day. Sephardic Jews are Spanish descendants from the 12th century who lived in Spain when it was still half Christian, half Arab. After turbulent years of religious persecution in Spain, and later in Portugal, many had to leave these countries. Since freedom of religion was of the utmost importance in the Netherlands, many settled in Amsterdam.
After the Dutch colonized Curaçao, they offered many incentives to encourage families to move to Curaçao. There was minimal interest, but eventually some Jewish families decided to move. They started successful retail businesses and the community continued to grow.
Our history began in the year 1896 when the company Senior & Co, founded by Haim Mendes Chumaceiro (also known as Shon Inchi) and his business partner Edgar Senior, operated a drugstore in Curaçao called 'Botika Excelsior'. The walls of that botika witnessed the beginning of it all, when Chumaceiro started producing an "aperitif" or "digestif" using his family's recipe and calling it Senior's Curaçao Tonic. They soon changed the name to Senior's Curaçao Liqueur.
By the year 1900, after Chumaceiro's death, his widow continued his legacy in her home, but in modest quantities. It was not until 1945 that the company began to take shape. The current company Senior & Co. was incorporated, and the descendants of the Senior and Chumaceiro families, plus some of the island's larger companies, held the shares. At the same time, the new company purchased the recipe from widow Chumaceiro.
Our Jewish heritage lies in the fact that both founders were Jewish. They were among the Sephardic Jews who once came to Curaçao and who still occupy a prominent place in the island's history to this day. Sephardic Jews are Spanish descendants from the 12th century who lived in Spain when it was still half Christian, half Arab. After turbulent years of religious persecution in Spain, and later in Portugal, many had to leave these countries. Since freedom of religion was of the utmost importance in the Netherlands, many settled in Amsterdam.
After the Dutch colonized Curaçao, they offered many incentives to encourage families to move to Curaçao. There was minimal interest, but eventually some Jewish families decided to move. They started successful retail businesses and the community continued to grow.
