What is the setting of "The Pit and the Pendulum?"

This story
is set during the Spanish Inquisition. This began in the late 15th century and lasted until the
early 1800s. This story supposedly takes place in the early 1800s when Napoleon was in power in
France. The Spanish Inquisition was a campaign undertaken by the leaders of Spain. The intent
was to maintain Catholic orthodoxy (belief and practice) and to convert non-Catholics, such as
Jews and Muslims, to Catholicism. The Inquisition is historically known for its repression,
censorship, and sometimes torture and execution of the people who were deemed to have committed
crimes against the faith (Catholicism). This occurred in Spain and other Spanish territories
such as the Canary Islands, Naples, and Spanish lands/colonies in North and South America. The
narrator reveals that this particular event is in Toledo, Spain. 

When the
story begins, the narrator finds himself imprisoned. He recalls his trial and conviction by the
Inquisitors. He notes that he has been sentenced to death. He finds himself being carried down
into a tomb (pit). This is the first of two rooms that he will be mentally and physically
tortured in. He is eventually rescued by the French General Lasalle and his army, enemies of the
Inquisition. This would have taken place in the early 1800s (during Napoleon's reign) but Poe
takes some artistic license with these historical facts and figures. The Spanish Inquisition
technically ended in 1834.