In A.D. 367, the great defender of orthodox belief, Athanasius bishop of Alexandria, wrote a letter. In this letter he affirmed all the books of the present Old Testament canon (except Esther) as well as all the books of the present New Testament canon. He also mentioned some of the books of the Apocrypha. Of those he said.
[They are] not included in the canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish instruction in the world of godliness.
Notice the date on Athanasius’ letter: 367. The North African Councils were 393 (Hippo), 397 and 419 (Carthage). Then there are the Council of Rome (382), Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 400), Pope Innocent I (405). From this point on there was universal acceptance of the Deuterocanonical books in the West. They would subsequently also be accepted in the East. There were always less controversy about them in the West than in the East. The occasional questioning from isolated theologians does not change this fact. Only with Martin Luther in the 16th century was there a serious rejection of the Deuterocanonical books. History does not support the Protestant version of the development of the Canon.