He was the eldest brother of Agustín de Betancourt. He began to participate actively in the cultural life of Tenerife, in collaboration with the Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País de Tenerife (Royal Economic Society of Friends of Tenerife). In 1778 he presented two notable studies. The first, Discurso sobre primeras materias (Discourse on raw materials) was awarded a silver medal and the second Discurso sobre la historia natural de la orchilla, estimulado de mi amor al Rey, a la Patria y a los Amigos del País (Discourse on the natural history of orchilla,) that was also prized by this society in 1779.

In 1785, he was called by his brother Agustín to become part of the hydraulic team of Spanish scholars residing in Paris. José was a man of solid education and gifted for mechanical inventions. He worked occasionally with the first members of the Spanish team while he was studying blocks and pulleys for warships. Joseph returned to Madrid in 1788, moving shortly after to Cadiz, to complete the project of a pulley-block factory. José planed the building of the Royal Consulate of the Canary Islands, remarkably designed, but it was never built.

In early 1793, he returned to Tenerife. Three years later, after the death of his father, he married Rosa Maria Lugo-Vina and Massieu, with whom he had three children. He lived in La Orotava for the rest of his days.