Until the publication of Mendieta's "Historia eclesiástica indiana" in 1870, Torquemada's work was held in high esteem but, thereafter, Icazbalceta's prestige combined with his vigorous denunciation of Torquemada's supposed plagiarism of his predecessor's previously unknown History, caused the "Monarquía indiana" to fall into disrepute, and many commentators disparaged its method, content, and style. From the middle of the 20th century, the work of numerous scholars has gone far to rehabilitating Torquemada and re-assessing the significance of the "Monarquía indiana". According to John Leddy Phelan, writing in 1956 (second edition revised, 1970):-For the historian of ideas the "Monarquía indiana" deserves to be restored to a position of eminence as one of the classic sources of colonial historiography.