Ensenada, located on the Baja California Peninsula, is a beautiful coastal city in Mexico. With its stunning beaches, delicious cuisine, and rich cultural heritage, Ensenada is the perfect destination for a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation. Visitors can enjoy a range of activities, including surfing, whale watching, and wine tasting at one of the many nearby vineyards. For those looking for a more cultural experience, Ensenada boasts a vibrant arts scene, featuring galleries and museums that showcase the region’s history and contemporary art. With its warm climate and welcoming locals.
Bahia Todos Santos, on which Ensenada now stands, was first reached by sea by the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on the vessels El Salvador and Victoria. The city was founded on September 17, 1542, under the name San Mateo. In 1602, while mapping the coast of the Californias in search of safe harbors for returning Spanish galleons from Manila to Acapulco, the city was renamed Ensenada de Todos Santos by Sebastián Vizcaíno. Ensenada means ‘bay’ or ‘cove’. The first permanent settlement was established by the Jesuits during the seventeenth or eighteenth century. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768, the Dominicans took over the representation of Europe in what is now Ensenada. In 1805, José Manuel Ruiz Carillo obtained permission to establish himself in Ensenada, being appointed governor of Baja California and building in Ensenada a house that survived until the final part of that century, despite being briefly taken by William Walker, the self-declared “president” of the Republic of Lower California, in 1853 to 1854.
In 1882, Ensenada was designated the capital of Baja California, and attempts at developing the area were made by the English Mexican Land and Colonization Company. These were interrupted by the Mexican Revolution, which left the area devastated. In 1915, the capital was transferred to Mexicali, and in 1930 the population of Ensenada was only 5,000. During the early part of the twentieth century, the city’s name was shortened from Ensenada de Todos Santos to Ensenada, a change made in order to avoid confusion with Todos Santos in Baja California Sur.
