On 21 November 1492, off the coast of Cuba, Pinzón failed to follow a direct order of Columbus to change course. He probably sailed off on his own trying to make individual discoveries and to find treasure, although Cesáreo Fernández Duro argues that the initial separation may have been accidental, a matter of missed signals. (Asensio takes Fernández Duro strongly to task for not adequately explaining the length of the separation; Fernández Duro responds that Pinzón simply continued the prior course, and if Columbus wanted, he should have had a pretty fair idea where to find him over the next several days.) During his separate travels he discovered new land; while all of the island geography of the first voyage is open to question, it is believed that the land was Haiti.