The city La Ligua was founded on 21 June 1754 by the Governor of the Kingdom, Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Ortíz de Rozas, who named it ‘Villa Santo Domingo de Rozas’. There are various versions of the origin of the word ‘Ligua’. One of them tells that it comes from the indigenous word ‘Lihuén’, which means ‘the morning’ or ‘the brightness’. Another version says that it comes from the language of Aymara and means ‘place where wool is woven for the house’.

The first industry of the region was the mining of gold, which went on for nearly three centuries. Later, people turned to agriculture and, little by little, the traditional production of textiles became the main industry of the region.

La Ligua is also famous throughout Chile for its dulces (sweets), a tradition passed from generation to generation, which today is also an important source of income.