A city of northeast New Jersey on the Hudson River opposite lower Manhattan. Settled before 1650 by the Dutch, it came under English control in 1664 and is today a port of entry and major distribution center. Population: 228,537. City (pop., 2000: 240,055), northeastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies opposite New York City. First settled by Dutch trappers (1618) and known as Paulus Hook, it was purchased from the Delaware Indians and established as a permanent settlement by 1660. In 1779, during the American Revolution, Gen. Henry Lee won a victory there over the British. Renamed Jersey City in 1836, it is a manufacturing centre