Can I ask a question on Quora? I would argue in favor of centennial. The clause says between the 17th and the early 20th century? The century after 17th is acceptable to exclude, but if you could read the sentence better, the second the is included.

An alternate option would be to recast the clause as from the 17th until early 20th century, or perhaps from the 17th century until the early 20th.