This paper examines the history of translation in the Western world from the perspective of power, providing a series of examples of the diverse ways in which translators are connected with centres of power. The case studies described are taken from different historical periods and different cultures. First, the article investigates twentieth-century developments. Next, it moves on to major translation enterprises which developed in medieval times under the direct patronage of primary centres of power and the gradual emergence of multiple centres of power and the shifting relations that translators have had with different agents. Next, it considers how translators constrained by the repressive cultural policies of fascist Italy and the former Soviet Union managed to exercise a certain power themselves in a subversive move to import values that ran counter to the dominant ideology. The role of women translators and a review of colonization, power and translation conclude the paper.