It was adopted in 1766 by the British government because the Stamp act they had imposed one year earlier had not gone the way they wanted. The 13 colonies boycotted everything that came from Britain and it took a big tool on their economy, which was in dire straits after all the wars they had gone through, like the 7 year war. They had to repeal the stamp act so the trade between the 13 colonies and Britain could begin again.