This article presents some findings of the history of translation project undertaken under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs, at Concordia University. It focuses on one of the nine themes of the project, i.e. translators and the emergence of national literatures. The project aims at a selective and thematic history of translation. Despite the broad-ranging nature of the study, the scope of the history has been limited. The role of the translator is to be stressed, and viewed from a socio-cultural, geographic and temporal perspective. Woodsworth’s article describes the work accomplished, the timetable and the theoretical perspectives – an important part will be the development of a relevant methodology and historical model – of the entire project. The remainder of the article deals with the theme of emergence of national literatures and the methodological issues at stake, which are accompanied by illustrative material.