The current territory of the state of Jalisco was inhabited during the X century of our time by communities belonging mostly to the ethnic groups of the Tarascos, Olmecas, Nahuas, and Chimichecas, which actually did not leave much trace behind as they were spread and dispersed across small towns, apart from some human skulls, some clay pots and a few tombs of a particular kind found only in the south of Jalisco and the state of Nayarit.

As the Spanish conquistadors reached Mexican soil, communities established in the western territories of the nation were almost wiped out and annihilated as the invaders exploited both the land and the inhabitants in search for precious metals. Once the Spaniards got hold of every single piece of value in the area, they continued their way into the northern territories of the state.

Explorer Cristobal de Olid commanded the expedition that began in the present-day state of Colima, where he founded villas and left relatives of Hernan Cortes in charge, who would eventually collect the riches and claimed the property contained in whatever territory fell in their control.

However, it was the expedition led by Nuno de Guzman, leaving New Tenochtitlan in 1529 in search of glory and fortune, which actually colonized the area known as Nueva Galicia, being San Miguel, Compostela, Purificacion and Guadalajara, the first Spanish settlements established in Jalisco's territory.

As these small towns moved around in search of better conditions and further development, the sedentary natives of the region, all of them submitted and subjected, began to organize and prepare an armed uprising, until , in 1540, just one year after Guadalajara was promoted to the rank of City, Spanish authorities had to request aid from the viceroyalty of Nueva España or New Spain . Thus, in one of the largest deployments of authority from the Spanish Crown in American soil, a military contingent was sent to the province, formed by 50,000 soldiers willing to put an end to the rebel's uprising. In the year 1548, king Charles V of Spain ordered the creation of the provincial court of Nueva Galicia, which was to be independent of the viceroyalty of New Spain. The seat of this province rested on the city of Guadalajara from the year 1561.

During the war for independence, the cities of the state of Jalisco were overwhelmed by the small guerrilla type battles that took place all over the country between the year of 1810 through 1821. The Constitution of the independent state of Jalisco was promulgated in 1824, and a year later the first governor of the entity was assigned for duty. Later on, the loss of more than half of the state territory to the United States, the government of Benito Juarez, and the upcoming of the Porfiriato dictatorship, all meant a series of advances and setbacks as well, and by the year 1877 the state was home to 867,000 inhabitants, a considerable population, 76% of which lived in rural areas where an intense agricultural activity was developing, mostly regarding the production of corn, sorghum and beans, but which also implied an isolation from urban centers which meant a great loss of terrain in terms of education.

As part of the accomplishments obtained during the Mexican Revolution, the relationship between employers and the working-class suffered radical change, and the peasants from the Jalisco fields took active part in the transformation of their labor environment. During the struggle for power between the Centralists and Federalists, the state contributed politicians and governors from both factions, up until the definitive advent of Federalism which allowed Jalisco to become a highly developed state.