The earliest direct evidence for the use of Indigo dates around 4000BC and comes from Peru. Pliny the Elder mentions India as the source of the dye and was imported in small quantities via the Silk Road. Blue dye can be made from two plants-indigo and woad. For a long time, woad was the main source of blue in Europe. Spanish explorers discovered an American species of indigo and began cultivating in Guatemala. In 1742, a 16 year old Eliza Luca successfully cultivated indigo for the Americas. 1742, the first shipment left for England.
