Correct Answer:
C. Nineteenth Century
The 'Age of Imperialism' refers to a period of aggressive expansion and formal colonization by European powers, and later the United States and Japan, into vast territories in Africa and Asia. This era began in earnest in the Nineteenth Century. Specifically, the latter half of the 19th century, often termed the 'New Imperialism' (roughly from the 1870s to the early 20th century), saw an unprecedented 'Scramble for Africa' and intensified control over Asian territories, driven by industrialization, the search for raw materials, and new markets.
- The Seventeenth Century saw earlier forms of colonialism, primarily in the Americas, but not the intense, widespread formal imperialism of the later period.
- The Eighteenth Century continued these colonial patterns, but the peak of aggressive, formal imperial expansion was yet to come.
- While imperialism continued into the early Twentieth Century, its *beginning in earnest* was firmly rooted in the preceding century, with decolonization largely occurring post-World War II.